Trouble in Paradise
by Lakshimbai
Summary: NOW COMPLETE: Sequel to Just Another Fed? Life goes on for Horatio, Frankie and the rest, before a big case comes up at just the wrong moment: when Frankie's family decide to visit.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I've bowed to public pressure and decided to do a sequel. This picks up a few weeks after _Just Another Fed?_ finished, so it might be best to read that one first. Anyway, thought I should start this one with some fluff, as fluff is always good, before the main story starts. Hope you like this, and remember: please review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Frankie herself.

* * *

Frankie lay in bed, pretending to be asleep. If she kept her eyes closed, then she wasn't really awake, she reasoned. Horatio had woken up hours ago – if there was one thing she would never understand about that man it was how little sleep he could survive on. She snuggled down deeper under the covers, warm and drowsy.

She heard the door open quietly, and a few moments later the bed dipped as Horatio sat down beside her. He touched her shoulder gently. "Chessie? Are you awake?"

She kept her eyes tightly closed. Horatio chuckled. "Come on, Chess, I know you're awake."

"No I'm not."

Horatio chuckled again. "Open your eyes Chess." She shook her head, biting her lip to prevent herself from grinning. She felt Horatio stand up, and strained her senses to hear where he had gone. She couldn't hear anything. She was just about to give up and open her eyes through sheer curiosity when something ice cold slipped down under her t-shirt.

Frankie leapt out of bed, shrieking with a mixture of laughter and shock. The ice cube fell out on to the floor and she turned to face Horatio, who was shaking with laughter. "I _cannot_ believe you just did that!"

"You needed to get up," he pointed out reasonably. Frankie was not in the mood for reasonable. She advanced on him, her face dark with anger. Horatio backed away, into the hall, trying to look serious and failing miserably.

"That was unnecessary. Wholly and utterly unnecessary. And you will suffer for that," she promised. Payback would be sweet, she swore to herself. She continued following him down the hall, into the living room and stopped short.

Horatio had laid out a vast breakfast: toast, jam, strawberries, sliced melon, bacon and fried eggs, and a large pot of coffee. She turned to him with tears glittering in her eyes. "See, I told you that you needed to get up. Otherwise your breakfast will get cold," he said, grinning in triumph that his surprise had worked.

"Oh," was all she could think of to say, as she sat down, her knees suddenly weak. Horatio sat beside her and poured out two cups of coffee. She took a grateful sip of hers, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You really didn't have to do all this, you know."

"Today's your first day back at work. You need to keep your strength up." A slight catch in his voice let her know that he was deeply concerned about her return to work.

She touched his hand gently. "Everything will be all right Horatio. I'll take it easy, I promise, and you know that Alexx will barely let me lift a cup of coffee without help. She's just as bad as you are."

He sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. She was still too thin, he decided. She really shouldn't feel that fragile. Doctor Robinson and he had butted heads numerous times about Frankie's health. The doctor, for reasons that Horatio would never work out, seemed to think Frankie was well enough to go back to work. How he came to that conclusion was a mystery to Horatio. It was only six weeks since she had been in Intensive Care after been shot three times, and losing a kidney along the way. How could she possibly be well enough to go back to work?

Oh well, he thought, there was nothing more he could do. Frankie had decided that she was going back to work today, and that was final. All he could do was keep a very close eye on her. "So what are you going to have first?"

* * *

Frankie took a deep breath before she stepped out of the Hummer. In all honesty, she was terribly nervous about going back to work, although, she suspected, not for the reasons Horatio would think of. He was worried she wasn't well enough, or that someone else would try to hurt her. Frankie, on the other hand, was far more concerned about people's reactions to her relationship with the boss. She knew her team were more than fine about it, but what would the other techs think? What about the detectives – would they tease her, or, worse, would they treat her differently now?

Walking into the building, leaning on Horatio's arm, she felt her face heat up as one of the detectives gave her a strange look. She swallowed hard, and Horatio turned to look at her in concern. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did, whenever he looked at her. His blue eyes, bluer than the Miami sky she mused, were troubled, and she could see his anxiety.

"If you don't feel well, I can just take you home," he offered, and she heard an unspoken plea. _Please go home, please stay safe,_ his eyes said.

She stretched up and gave him a brief hug. "I'm fine. Just first-day-back nerves." They made it through the front door before she was almost bowled over by Frank Tripp giving her a bear hug.

"It's real good to see you back Frankie," the big Texan said warmly. He laughed suddenly. "All right H, don't glare at me like that! I ain't gonna squeeze her to death!"

She giggled, feeling suddenly much better. Tripp escorted her up to the lab, Horatio forming the other side of her honour guard. A delighted squeal when they entered the lab told her Calleigh had spotted her. The petite blonde was looking lovelier than ever these days, Frankie mused, due in no small part to a certain Eric Delko.

"Frankie! It's so good so see you!" That might be a bit over the top, Frankie thought, as Calleigh and Eric had come around for dinner two nights ago.

The women hugged each other tightly. Frankie turned to grin at Horatio, her arm linked through Calleigh's. "Don't you have work to do?" she smiled. And winked.

He gave her a calculating look, as though assessing whether he thought she could survive for a few short hours. Then he nodded once. "I guess you're right. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she assured him. He turned to make his way to his office. "Hey!" Horatio half-turned back. "See you for lunch?"

He smiled at her, and she fought the urge to walk over and kiss the hell out of him in front of the entire lab. "Count on it."

Frankie turned back to Calleigh. "So where's Alexx? I think we have some serious catch-up gossiping to do!" She sighed with happiness as they set off in search of the coroner. Everything was back to normal. It probably wouldn't last, but she would enjoy normality while it lasted.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! I'm feeling very loved now! It really is wonderful to hear from people who like the story, so keep reviewing!

* * *

Normality lasted precisely five days. Frankie had just returned home – and it still gave her a thrill of delight to think of Horatio's house as her home – to see a red blinking light on the answer phone. As well as the usual messages trying to sell something, and one from her doctor arranging a check-up, there was one other. 

"Frankie! What the hell is going on? There are three messages on the machine here, saying you've been shot, you're in hospital and then you've moved in with your boss! Call your father immediately young lady!"

She winced and looked at Horatio, who raised his eyebrows. "I take it they're home from their cruise then," he commented dryly.

Her parents had been on a two month cruise around Alaska, something her mother had always dreamed of, as a fortieth wedding anniversary present to themselves. Her older sister and her husband had gone with them and Frankie had been invited too. Since she had been, at the time, in the middle of an emotional crisis over a certain redhead, she had not been in the mood for a family holiday.

"I suppose I'd better call them," she said heavily. She sank wearily into an armchair, and smothered a grin as Horatio instantly looked concerned.

"Do you want something to drink? Or eat? You're over-tiring yourself, you know." He was worse than Alexx, she thought.

"I'm fine. Just not looking forward to this conversation." She dialled her parents' number and the phone was snatched up almost immediately. "Hey Dad, it's me."

"Frankie! Thank God you're all right!" Her father sounded as if he was torn between relief and outrage. "Your poor mother has been worrying herself sick over you. What on earth happened?"

Frankie explained about the Fuentes' brothers as briefly as she could, trying to make it sound as everyday and commonplace as possible. She could hear her father repeating her story to her mother and sister as she told it, and from the muffled sounds she could hear, it wasn't going down very well.

Her mother obviously grabbed the phone from her father. "Yes, yes, yes. What I want to know, darling, is about this young man of yours. Tell me everything."

Frankie giggled. Trust her mom to go straight to the gossip. "Telling you everything would be a little difficult Mom, as he's in the room with me." Horatio flushed, and Frankie giggled again. Really, she thought, he was so easy to embarrass. All it took was a compliment. She hurriedly pulled her mind back to the conversation she was meant to be having. Her mother had been chattering away and Frankie had been so caught up with looking at Horatio that she had forgotten to listen.

"So, we'll come down in a couple of days then?" Frankie froze with horror as her mother spoke. They were coming _here_? To Miami? Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!

"Lucy and Darren can come with us. It will be so nice to have the family all together again."

"You're coming here?" Frankie squeaked, her voice failing her in surprise.

"Well of course we are darling. We want to meet this young man of yours. It's about time you settled down." Frankie leaned back, one hand covering her eyes in a gesture of despair. Her mood was not helped by Horatio's laugh. Her mother was still talking. "We'll stay in a hotel, of course. Well, I wouldn't want to get in your way! Won't that be nice?"

About as nice as a weekend in Hades, Frankie thought grimly. However, she smiled and said, "Lovely Mom, I can't wait."

Horatio perched on the arm of the chair she was sitting in as she hung up. Frankie automatically leaned into him, and smiled as he wrapped his arm tightly around her. "I gather your parents are coming down here then."

"Yeah, and they're bringing my sister and her awful husband." She groaned, and turned to bury her face in his side. "Make them go away."

"I thought you and your parents got on well."

"No, my dad and I get on well. My mom prefers my sister, and thinks it's about time I settled down."

"Don't you?" Horatio bit his lip, glad Frankie couldn't see his face. He had thought she was settled down, with him.

Frankie looked up and rolled her eyes. "You know, for someone who is drop dead gorgeous, sexy, clever and generally rather wonderful, you're very insecure sometimes. You and I are, to quote myself, exactly what I want. When my mom says settled down, she means get married, have kids, stop working and generally be a lot more like your sister."

Deliberately ignoring the first part of her speech, Horatio relaxed slightly. "You never really talk about your sister."

It was Frankie's turn to look uncomfortable. "Lucy and I don't get on very well. I'm a daddy's girl, while she was far closer to Mom. We were never close, but I feel guilty saying that, knowing you lost Ray. I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful for having a sister."

He really needed to tell her the truth about Ray, Horatio thought for what seemed like the thousandth time. Instead, he dropped a light kiss on top of her head. "My family history is just that: history. You can't censor what you feel about your family because of me."

A rumble of hunger from her changed the topic. Frankie grinned. "Come on, I'll cook tonight. I'm starved."

Horatio beat her to the kitchen. "You're exhausted. I'll cook."

"I'm not an invalid, Horatio. I can still cook!"

"We'll compromise. I'll cook, you can brief me on how to win around your dad, so he doesn't want to kill me for dating his little girl." Frankie didn't like to mention that her father had always been over-protective around her, especially when it came to dating. Winning him over would be very, very tough.


	3. Chapter 3

Frankie perched on a stool and watched Horatio work, feeling slightly guilty. After all, he had had a much longer, tougher day at work than she had, but then again, he had insisted on doing the cooking. She smiled suddenly and he turned to look at her.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I was just thinking how pleasant it was to be bickering with you over something so…normal. Next thing you know, we'll be arguing over who should do the washing up, or the laundry. It's like we're a proper couple." She laughed self-consciously, aware of how silly that sounded.

Horatio caught his breath at how beautiful she looked. Frankie's eyes had dark circles under them, her blonde hair was all spiking up in different directions and she was only wearing normal work clothes, but her eyes were alight with happiness, and she had regained her golden Floridian tan. He walked up to her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I can't believe how lucky I am," he murmured, talking to himself almost. Frankie felt like singing, but contented herself with kissing him back, none too gently. He broke away, shaking his head regretfully. "I wish we could continue that, but now I'm hungry as well."

Frankie leaned against the counter top. "So, do you want a briefing on my parents?"

"Unless you're looking forward to seeing your father kill me…"

She laughed. "Well, Dad is a retired FBI agent, so that's always a possibility. He was based in New York, and headed up the Missing Persons department for a while. He worked in most areas though. Basically, he's your typical over-protective police father. He always threatened to fingerprint any boyfriend I brought home, just so he could run a full background check on them."

Horatio looked around, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Did he ever follow through on that?"

"Not that I know of. Perhaps he did, but never found anything incriminating. I'm sure you'll get on fine with him. After all, you're quite similar in some ways." She tilted her head, studying him closely. In dedication to his job, Horatio did resemble her father, although their attitudes were very different. Where Horatio was always calm and in control, her father had tendency to lose his temper and snap at people.

"I was always the favourite with him, mainly because I was a tomboy who loved sports, while Lucy took more after Mom, and preferred dressing up in pretty clothes. When I joined the Bureau, I think he almost burst with pride. Mom was just as proud of Lucy when she got married, so they kind of evened each other up."

"What does Lucy do?"

"She is Darren's secretary at his consultancy firm." Frankie rolled her eyes. "She never wanted a career. When she was younger, she used to say she wanted to marry a rich man so she would never have to do anything. They don't have any kids yet, so she doesn't have that excuse, but when she gets pregnant, I'm sure she'll quit her job."

"You were always the ambitious one, then?"

She nodded. "Is that a bad thing, do you think? Maybe I take my work too seriously."

"Maybe, but so do I, so I can't comment really." Frankie smiled, but she knew they differed on that. She was ambitious, whereas Horatio took his job seriously because it was the right thing to do, not for personal gain. "So why do you hate her husband?"

Frankie snorted. "He's an arrogant pig, that's why! You'll understand perfectly when you meet him. My mom, unlike the others, is absolutely guaranteed to love you."

"Really?"

"You're going out with me, and we're actually serious about each other. Are you kidding? She'll adore you, especially if you hint that you would consider marriage. Not that I'm hinting anything like that," she added hurriedly, suddenly talking very quickly. "I mean, I love the way things are now, and I wouldn't want to change anything, unless you do. Oh God, do you?"

"Chess, stop talking. You're babbling." She shut up with a rueful smile. Horatio looked at her seriously for a moment. "I love the way things are too. And maybe we'll consider marriage in time, but everything is just perfect right now. And that is all that matters."

Frankie grinned, feeling absurdly happy. Her parents would undoubtedly burst her bubble when they arrived, but for now, Horatio was right. Everything was perfect. And then his cell phone rang.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been Frank Tripp on the phone, ringing about a suspicious package that had been delivered to CSI. The Bomb Squad had had to be called in to detonate it, although it later turned out to be a hoax. The news still managed to ruin Frankie's evening, as Horatio spent the rest of the night deep in thought, and she wasn't particularly happy about the night's event either.

What had been merely suspicious the night before became downright worrying the next day when they went into work. A letter had been delivered marked 'For the Attention of Horatio Caine.'

Frankie was in the break room, having coffee with the rest of the team when he wandered in, holding a sheet of paper and frowning. "What's that? A love letter from a secret admirer?" she joked.

"Hardly," he replied shortly, handing her a pair of latex gloves and then the letter. She read it through once in silence and then looked up at him, shocked.

"Is this genuine?"

"H, Frankie, come on! Don't keep us in suspense," Eric laughed.

"_Lieutenant Caine,_" Frankie read, "_I assume you know about me demonstration last night. I must say, the Bomb Squad's response was admirable. For the sake of the city, one can only hope they will be as impressive next time. The next package, I can assure you, will not be a hoax. As to where it will be delivered – well, you'll just have to wait and see._ That's all it says," she finished, her eyes wide.

"What sort of sick joke is this?" Alexx snapped. "Who would think this is funny?"

"I don't think it is a joke Alexx," Horatio said quietly. "I think it's a warning."

"Why would he give us a warning?" Ryan asked.

"Most bombers are egotistical. They want people to know how clever they are. Eric, I want you to take the letter and envelope. I doubt you'll get much from the envelope, but it's worth a shot. Calleigh, take Ryan with you to finish up on the Edwards case. I have a feeling we're all going to be needed on this one before too long. Frankie, I know you don't have much to go on, but do you have enough to start profiling him?"

"I can make a start. As it's handwritten, I'll take it to a graphologist friend of mine, see what he thinks."

"Thanks," Horatio said, flashing her a brief smile. The next instant he was gone, followed by the other CSIs, leaving Alexx and Frankie alone.

"No rest for the wicked, I guess," Frankie sighed as she stood up.

"In this city? Forget it!"

* * *

Horatio glared at the various items in front of him. They told him nothing about the identity of the would-be bomber. Oh, he now knew that the man had used 2-inch screws – just the right length to set off the sensors – but these were a standard brand that could have been bought anywhere. They had been wrapped in some form of black plastic, and although it was difficult to be sure due to the controlled explosion, Horatio was fairly certain that it was from standard black garbage bags. The package itself had been destroyed, but a photo had been taken as it was scanned, and the post mark showed it had been posted at the Post Office on Collins Avenue. So utterly standard components, with no distinguishing marks, features or fingerprints, posted at one of the busiest branches in the city. Well, _that_ was helpful.

Eric came in, looking as frustrated as he felt. "Get anything H?"

"Nothing useful. How about you?"

"Standard A4 paper from just about anywhere, posted in Downtown Miami. The envelope has been handled by God knows how many, but I asked Joseph to try to separate out the prints anyway. We may get lucky. Other than that – nothing."

"So unless Frankie comes up with a miracle, all we can do is wait for his next move." Horatio scowled unseeing into the middle distance, causing a young lab tech to turn pale and scurry past as quickly as possible. Eric stifled a grin. God help the bomber when Horatio caught up with him.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Never having been near a bomb in my life, my knowledge is unfortunately restricted to far too many Tom Clancy novels and never enough repeats of CSI Miami. Also, I should mention that I have no idea what level CSI everyone is. So, for this fic, Horatio and Calleigh are Level 3, Eric is Level 2 and Ryan is Level 1. I'll try to separate the dark bits with a bit of humour every now and then. Hope you enjoy, please read and review!

* * *

Nothing happened. For two whole days, nothing happened. It was getting to the stage where Frankie was almost hoping for a bomb, just to release the tension. She didn't have enough information to do more than the most basic of profiles, and her appointment with the graphologist was not until the next day. When Eric walked in on her morning coffee–and–gossip with Calleigh, both women instantly said the same thing.

"Any news?"

The Cuban shook his head. "Nothing. It's quiet out there – too quiet." All three started to laugh. "Always wanted to say that," Eric said pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down next to Calleigh. Frankie grinned as she saw how naturally Eric's arm went around Calleigh's shoulders, and how she leaned back into his embrace. Took them long enough, she thought fondly.

"All right, Frankie, there's no need to look so smug. After all, you're not much better when Horatio is around," Calleigh teased her friend.

"I know. They're going to have to start calling this the Lab of Love."

"Nah, we need to find Ryan a girlfriend first," Eric laughed. Both women's eyes lit up at the prospect of match-making.

"Ooh, yeah! Who do you think Frankie? Valera might be an option, or that new girl, what's her name?"

"You mean Trisha? I don't know, she's a bit quiet," Frankie mused.

"Who is?" Ryan asked, appearing suddenly. He didn't get an answer, as all three started to giggle uncontrollably. The young CSI was just about to get annoyed when Horatio walked in.

"Joke's over everyone. There's been an explosion."

* * *

Horatio stared at the devastation around him grimly. _Thank God I ordered Frankie to stay at the lab,_ he thought. He would never be able to concentrate if she had come out to the scene with him. All his attention would be on making sure she was all right, and that no one was about to hurt her. And that would not help this case. 

The bomb had torn through the heart of the Everglades Open Centre, the tourist information point for all those wishing to have a tour of Miami's natural border. It was also an educational centre, and the bomb had gone off just as a school tour was arriving for their day trip to the Glades. So far, there were five confirmed deaths and another three people missing, trapped beneath the rubble.

A member of the Bomb Squad approached him, and he found a welcoming smile from somewhere. Bill Franklin had been a friend from years back, and had been just a rookie when Horatio left the Squad. "Bill."

"H. What do you make of this?"

"It's got to be some form of high explosive. There's too much damage for it to be anything like dynamite."

"Yeah, we're thinking C4 at the moment."

Horatio paused for a moment. Composition-4 was a military grade explosive. Could this be a terrorist attack? "I'll let you know when we confirm that."

Alexx arrived in the coroner's van then. "Oh my God," she whispered, half-prayer, half-disbelief. Horatio glanced over at her. She was swaying slightly, her eyes filled with tears.

"Alexx?"

"My kids were meant to come here next week," she said as she turned to him. "It could have been them."

"But it wasn't," he said gently. "Alexx, if you want someone else to cover this…" He let the question hang in the air unsaid. The ME glared at him for a long moment, before squaring her narrow shoulders and heading off into the scene.

"We should start processing," he said, turning the Bomb Squad man. Bill followed his lead, snapping on a pair of latex gloves and following Horatio towards the main seat of detonation. Calleigh, Ryan and Eric were just about to start, having been helping look for survivors.

"They just found another body, H." Eric's eyes were red, though whether from dust or tears, Horatio couldn't tell. "A little girl. She was eight years old."

"So we're up to six," Horatio bit his lip hard. "Any luck finding the others?"

"Fire-Rescue pulled one guy out. He's hurt pretty bad, but he should make it. There's no sign of the other woman."

Horatio nodded, his eyes focused on a point on the ground in front of him. Ryan followed his gaze and stepped forward, but his supervisor caught his arm and yanked him back. "Stay there," he ordered. Horatio bent down and carefully picked up a charred metal object. "Blasting cap, often used to detonate C4," he said softly. "Everything we need is here people," he said, standing up as he spoke. "The components of the bomb are here somewhere and I want to see every piece of it back at the lab. Find the bomb, find the bomber."

"C4. Are we looking for terrorists?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't know yet. This seems a strange target for terrorists, but let's keep an open mind." Horatio tipped his head to one side and stared past them, as he heard an odd sound. Picking his way carefully through the rubble, he reached what had been the main entrance to the centre.

"Where is he going now?" Ryan sighed.

Eric grinned. "H always has his reasons. We'll never understand them, but that's just H." As he spoke, Horatio knelt down and eased a lump of concrete out of the way. Underneath, it was possible to make out the face and left shoulder of a woman, who had blood streaming down her face. As Horatio called for rescue, and calmed the terrified woman down, Eric exchanged looks with his fellow CSIs. "See? Told you."


	6. Chapter 6

When Horatio exited the elevator into the lab, closely followed by the rest of the team, he was unexpectedly hit by a small whirlwind, otherwise known as Frankie. He staggered backwards a few paces but his arms still instinctively went around her waist, steadying her against his body. She clung to him tightly, and he raised his eyebrows. What on earth had brought this on?

Calleigh smirked. Oh, this was the Lab of Love all right. "We'll get processing Horatio."

"Chess," he said very softly. "Chess, what's the matter?" She lifted her head, and met his gaze. Her grey eyes were bright with fear. "Are you okay?"

Frankie blinked several times. "Of course I'm okay! Are you?" Horatio nodded, bemused. "Are you sure?" She gently touched his arm. He had left his jacket in the Hummer, and the white cotton of his shirt was stained with blood. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"I'm fine Chess. The blood isn't mine." He explained about finding the woman beneath the rubble, and felt her relax.

"Thank God," she said quietly. Then she stretched up and kissed him, hard, not caring who was watching. When she pulled back, she smiled brightly at him. "Don't get hurt. That's an order Lieutenant." With that, she turned around and headed back to her small office. Horatio cleared his throat and looked around. The watching lab techs and detectives remembered they did have some work to do, and a sudden babble of noise broke out. Aware he was blushing, he made his way as quickly as possible to the morgue, where Alexx was waiting.

* * *

She hid a smile as Horatio walked into her domain. He looked flustered, embarrassed, awkward. Not words usually associated with the ever self-assured Lieutenant Caine. There could only be one explanation, as no one had ever affected Horatio like this before. 

"What did she do?"

He shot her an exasperated glance. "Don't ask." He turned his attention to the long row of body bags, waiting to be dealt with. "You've got a long night ahead of you."

"Don't I know it honey! I started with the manager of the Centre, and from the look of it, he was closest to the blast. So far, I've found three lumps of wood embedded in his chest, and I think there's more where they came from. Other than that, severe trauma to almost everywhere on him, but that's not unusual. Several of the others look less damaged, but I'll let you know as soon as I get them done."

"Take your time Alexx, I don't think the victims will tell us much about this one. Have you sent the clothes to Trace?"

"Of course."

"Keep up the good work. Let me know if you need to call in the deputy coroner." He made his way over to the Trace lab, where Eric and Ryan were hard at work. Strangely, knowing that Eric was dating Calleigh appeared to have made Ryan more comfortable around the older man. "Progress gentlemen?"

"We've got all the components of the bomb here now, and we're just swabbing them for any residue. Calleigh's working victimology with Frankie at the moment, but when we're done, she's going to run with any toolmarks she finds." Eric had really grown up since he started dating Calleigh, Horatio thought. The young man would soon be able to be considered for moving up to CSI Level 3.

"Good. I'll take a look at the photos, and the blasting cap. We need to find this guy's signature."

"It could be a woman, H." Ryan offered hesitantly.

"It could Ryan, but it's more likely to be a man. 94percent of bombers are." Picking up the photos, he headed over to the layout room. Frankie was staring at another photo, while Calleigh was typing away on a computer. He stood for a moment before he went in, just enjoying looking at her. So beautiful, he thought happily. Then, with an effort, he pulled his mind back to the case.

"Have we been able to identify the victims?" Calleigh looked around when he walked in, but Frankie stayed focused on the photo in front of her.

"We've identified most of them. There's just one vic left. It could be one of two guys, and his prints aren't in the system, so I'm trying to contact next of kin." He nodded, acknowledging her information, before leaning over Frankie's shoulder, trying to see what was so interesting. It was a photo of one of the vic's shoulders, and had a tattoo of an anchor with a trident across the middle. On top of the anchor was an eagle.

"Interesting. What's the significance of the tattoo?"

"It means he was a Navy SEAL," Frankie replied. "Special forces. His name was Brent McClain, he was one of the airboat pilots for the Centre. He was scheduled to have taken some of the kids out this morning." She shook her head. "This man probably served in some of the world's most dangerous areas, but he dies in a bomb in Miami? Where's the justice in that?"

He touched her shoulder lightly. "We'll find who did this Chess. We'll find the justice for the victims."

She turned her head, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know you will." She frowned as she thought of something. "Do you think this could have anything to do with McClain's past job? I mean, SEALs aren't exactly well liked by terrorists."

"Possibly. But why would a terrorist be writing letters to me? That's if the two events are linked of course."

"I'm meeting with the graphologist tomorrow. He might be able to tell if the note was written by a whacko or by someone who would actually act on those threats. It might be worth seeing where McClain has served, just in case. Do you want me to do that? I know someone who might help."

Horatio raised his eyebrows at that, but she didn't elaborate, so he left it. For now. "Sure, if you can get anything."

He turned to leave when Frankie called his name. "Oh yeah, and national emergency number two: my parents arrive the day after tomorrow. They're booked into the Agramonte Hotel for a week."

"I'm looking forward to meeting them," he assured her as he left. Calleigh gaped at her.

"Your parents are coming?"

Wincing, Frankie explained about their imminent arrival. Calleigh laughed. "I wish I could see that meeting. You could sell tickets."

"Thanks for your support," she said wryly, before turning back to study more photos of the victims. Brent McClain's face stayed with her though. Why _would_ a terrorist be writing to Horatio? Yet who was it if not a terrorist?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: OK, this is taking a while because I'm trying to figure out a way to work in enough clues so the result of the case isn't a totally ridiculous. Mysteries don't tend to be my forte, so bear with me here. Would really appreciate any comments from people, good or bad.

Also, ffnet won't let me put in rulers anymore! Aargh!

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Horatio called a team meeting at eight o'clock that night. Judging by the exhaustion on the faces of the group before him, it was not a moment too soon. He had no doubt that had there been any form of lead, they would have stuck at it all night, but endless dead ends sap the energy like nothing else.

"Okay, I want everyone's reports on what we've found so far, and then you are all to go home and get some rest." Frankie raised her eyebrows at that. Hypocrisy was not usually Horatio's style, but she had a feeling there would be little rest for him until he had solved this case.

Calleigh started. "Well, most of the toolmarks on the wires are standard. I can find out which tools were used, but that will only give you a brand name. There is one piece of good news: his pair of wire cutters has a scrape on one of the blades, so if you find the guy, I can match his tools to the bomb."

Frankie watched as the rest of the team gave their reports. It turned out that trace off several components suggested the bomber lived or worked near a plant nursery, as Eric and Ryan had found some plant pesticide. Other than that, the boys had the sad tale of six hours work, with no fingerprints, no DNA and nothing other than the pesticides. The signature of the bomber, according to Horatio, was in the way the blasting cap had been wired into the bomb. Not understanding bombs, Frankie could understand little of Horatio said, only that the method was unusual, and suggested a military background.

Alexx, taking great gulps of coffee to help keep awake, gave her report next. It turned out the manager of the Centre was not the closest to the blast, as previously expected. The ex-SEAL, Brent McClain, had been nearest to the seat of detonation, judging by the white butterfly effect on his insides. While his body remained relatively unscathed, McClain's internal organs had turned to soup, which suggested close proximity to the bomb.

Frankie was last to speak. "Victimology is a little weird on this. We have to assume, until we learn otherwise, that there was some personal motive behind this, and that one of the victims was the primary target. Of the six dead victims, I think we can probably rule out Susie Jeffries and Peter Frost. Eight and nine years old respectively, they were only there on a school trip. Their teacher, Mrs Amanda Hardy, also died. Her background has turned up little out of the ordinary. She was educated out of state, in California, and moved here to live with her husband. No criminal past, no children, and no family with a criminal past. The Centre manager, David Barker, was also clean, apart from a couple of parking violations and a speeding ticket. The other Centre employees are slightly more interesting. The maintenance supervisor Charlie Hackford has a couple of drug charges on his sheet, all to do with possession of cocaine, while Brent McClain, the airboat pilot, was an ex-SEAL. I'm waiting on a friend to get back to me with his service record, so we'll know where he served. There may be a terrorist connection, there may not."

Horatio nodded slowly, his eyes staring into nothing as he mentally filed away the new information. Eric slammed his hand into the table in frustration. "So we've basically got nothing!"

"We've got a lot," Horatio corrected firmly. "We just don't know how to use it yet."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He was silent on the way home, and Frankie let him think in peace. They had picked up some take-out on the drive, and she was surprised to discover she was starving. Horatio picked at his, and barely spoke. After an hour or so, however, she began to question whether or not it was healthy to get so lost in a case. A break from thinking about it would allow him to look at the evidence with fresh eyes in the morning, and perhaps spot something new.

Time for a distraction, she decided. "I was thinking, Horatio," she began, "about the spare bedrooms. The smallest one would be perfect for Madison to have as a play room, don't you think? We could redecorate it so she'd like it, and perhaps even have her over to stay for a couple of weekends." Frankie had met Madison while she was recuperating. Initially, both had been wary of each other, as Madison was a shy child, and Frankie in general didn't like small children. They had got over their suspicions fairly quickly though, especially as Frankie had discovered that Madison was an intelligent girl who wasn't anything like some of the children she had known. Madison, in return, had decided that _Auntie_ Frankie was very cool and a lot of fun.

Horatio didn't look up. Frankie took a deep breath. He must be deep in thought indeed for Madison's name not to get his attention. Still, she tried again. "I was thinking maybe we could get one of those bunk beds that have a desk instead of a bottom bunk. That way, when Madison gets a little older, she could do her homework there. What do you think?" No answer. "Horatio!"

Startled, he looked at her. "What?"

"Were you listening to anything I just said?"

A flash of panic appeared in his eyes. "Uh," he hedged, playing for time. "Something about the case?" Frankie's deliberately blank expression let him know that was wrong. "Or something about …Calleigh and Eric?"

"Not everything in life revolves around that lab!" She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "You need a break, you need to stop thinking about the case." She hung her head, knowing this was a losing battle. "I'm going to bed."

She stood up, leaving Horatio sitting where he was, frowning. "I can't just forget about the case. Six people died today, and maybe if we'd been better at our jobs, that wouldn't have happened."

Frankie blinked a couple of times. "How do you figure that?"

"We should have figured out who the bomber was from that hoax he sent to the lab." The stubborn set of Horatio's jaw let her know that logically pointing out that they had done everything possible to find the hoaxer wouldn't work. Neither would mentioning that there was nothing to connect the two events just yet.

She rolled her eyes and dropped a light kiss on top of his head. "You don't truly believe that. Now, I'm going to bed, and I really think you should join me." She bit her lip, trying to prevent a giggle from escaping as she heard herself. Horatio smiled, and nodded. "And I meant, you need sleep!" His dry chuckle followed her into the bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: There's a short little crossover with NCIS in this chapter, but it's only so Frankie can get some information. I may use the friendship between Frankie and Kate in another story (if there's any interest in a third installment of course), but for the moment, this is simply the result of loving NCIS, and watching too much of it. For those of you who also watch it, Kate is here because I've only seen Season 1. Damn English TV! Anyway, she's still alive in my universe. Also, along with no medical knowledge, and knowing nothing about bombs, I also have no clue about graphology, except that I think it's a fascinating science.

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There was another letter waiting at CSI for Horatio. Frankie felt ill at the very sight of the envelope, but Horatio seemed to think this was somehow a good thing. Men, she thought darkly. Why do they always think bad news is good news?

"This is another example you can take to the graphologist later on," he explained. The letter was no less disturbing than the previous one. _Lieutenant Caine, I am afraid you will now be very busy dealing with the aftermath of yesterday. I hope I have not inconvenienced you in any way. I fear this may not be my last demonstration, and wish you the very best for your investigation._

"I hope I have not inconvenienced you?" Frankie quoted disbelievingly. "He blows up a tourist centre, kills six people and hopes you're not put out in any way? Who does he think he is?"

"I intend to find out," Horatio said grimly, brushing a swift kiss against her cheek before heading off to the trace lab. She watched his lean figure disappear around the corner and sighed. Hopefully they would catch this lunatic before it was too late. Horatio hadn't slept at all, she was sure. Even if he had dropped off to sleep briefly, he spent the whole night tossing and turning. _Not_ conducive to a good night's sleep.

She shook her head and headed into her small office. A repetitive beeping let her know that she had messages waiting for her. The only one of interest was one from her contact in the Navy asking her to call back.

She quickly dialled and was surprised to hear a male voice answer. "Agent Todd's desk?"

"Er, is Kate there? It's Frankie Nelson."

"No, she's out at the moment. Frankie, isn't it? I'm Tony," the voice introduced himself. "So how do you know our Katie?"

Katie? Kate was never referred to as Katie by her friends. "Why are you so interested?"

"You sound pretty," he replied. Frankie, unable to think of a snappy comeback, just laughed. Then she heard Kate's voice shriek in the distance.

"DiNozzo! Get the hell away from my desk! What have I told you?" There was a loud thump as the phone was dropped to the desk and then a man's deep voice called out, "DiNozzo! Stop bullying Kate!" Tony's voice plaintively wailed, "Oh, but boss!" Finally, Kate picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Kate, it's Frankie. You said you had some info for me?"

"Oh, yes, your SEAL. Corporal Brent McClain was honourably discharged three years ago, due to a work related injury. He served in Kosovo and Afghanistan, but was wounded there."

"Yeah, a damaged shoulder ligament. Our ME found it in her autopsy."

"That's the one. Anyway, after Afghanistan he left the service. Not much there I'm afraid."

Frankie sighed. "Do you think this could be terrorist related?"

"Probably not. He was only involved in Afghanistan for a short period of time, and was injured through friendly fire, not enemy action." Kate broke off for a moment. "Tony! If you throw one more paperclip at me, I swear…!"

Frankie laughed. "Who is this Tony? He sounds like a giggle." Horatio and Tripp knocked on the door, and she waved them in.

"He's not," Kate said shortly. "He's an immature pain in the neck." She lowered her voice, "And between you and me, he's a damn good investigator. Just don't tell him I said that. So how's your redhead?"

"Gorgeous," she replied. "But also very impatient, so I'd better go and get on with some work. Speak to you later, Katie!"

"Don't call me Katie!" Frankie heard the other woman cry as she hung up. Horatio and Tripp both just looked at her.

"It doesn't look like this was aimed at the SEAL," she reported. "He wasn't involved in any major antiterrorist operations, so it's probably just a coincidence."

"And how do you know that?" Frank Tripp asked.

"A friend of mine, Kate Todd, works for NCIS. We met on a couple of profiling seminars, back when I was based in DC."

"NCIS?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Horatio answered before Frankie could. "So, we need to focus on one of the other victims. Frank, you take Charlie Hackford, I'll get Calleigh to look into Amanda Hardy, and I'll check into David Barker. One of them must have some link to all of this."

"It could be someone who wasn't hit by the bomb," Frankie suggested. "Someone who just got lucky?"

"Maybe, but there's too many of them to check through just now. If there's another attack, then we might be able to connect it to someone else, but for now, we stick with who we know was affected. Chess, do you need a ride to the graphologist?"

"I'll take you," Tripp said, with a wink. "I want all the gossip though!" Horatio flushed and Frankie chuckled.

"Are you sure you want _all _the gossip?" she asked archly.

It was the Texan's turn to go red. "Er, well, um, maybe not all," he recovered as best he could.

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The drive to the graphologist was mercifully short, as Frank lived up to his word and interrogated her about her relationship. As they pulled up, having gone through some details that she was beginning to wish she hadn't shared, Tripp gave her an appraising look.

"You're good for him," he said simply before getting out of the car. Frankie stared and blushed for a second, before hurrying to catch him up.

Dr Georges Alexandrou was of Greek descent, and it showed clearly. Olive skin was complimented by dark eyes and black hair, going silver at the temples. His features were slightly austere, but he broke into a wide smile when he saw Frankie.

"Francesca my dear, it has been too long! How is your father? I really must call him soon. Come, come, sit down both of you! Can I get you some coffee?"

She showed him both of the letters and he studied them silently for a minute. "And these have arrived the morning after an attack? Hmm, very interesting."

Alexandrou fell silent again, but Tripp was not in his most patient mood. "What's interesting?"

"These were written by the bomber, I think."

"How can you tell?" Frankie asked, intrigued by this statement.

"The language used, the depth of the ink, and the way the letters all lean forward slightly; they all suggest determination and belief that this is the right course of action. I would guess that this is his way of getting revenge for some wrong done to him, either perceived or real."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. By writing to Lieutenant Caine he is drawing unnecessary attention to himself, and giving away unnecessary clues. He must have some pressing reason to involve the police. I don't think it is something to do with Lieutenant Caine himself though, that name is written as normally as anything else. The word that is most heavily indented is 'inconvenienced'. I suspect the police were not very helpful when he last mentioned this injustice, as he sees it. I think he actually trusts Lieutenant Caine to find him, but also to solve the previous injustice, whatever that may be."

"Thanks for all your help Georges," Frankie said, giving the older man a brief hug as she left. So, she thought, a mad bomber with a grudge against society and the police, except that he thinks Horatio is the best man for the job. Add that to the impending arrival of my parents, and you have my perfect day. Not.


	9. Chapter 9

The next team meeting was without Alexx, who had another DB from another case to deal with. It was, unfortunately, however attended by the Chief of Police, who had decided this was a high profile enough case for him to get involved. Frankie groaned under her breath as he walked in. If Horatio hadn't been feeling pressure before, he would certainly be aware of it now.

Chief Johnson had a tall, spare figure, with a complexion that spoke of more time spent on the golf course than in the office. He was nearing retirement, and wanted to go out on a high, hence the unusual interest in a case. He took a seat around the table, and looked around at Horatio.

"Ignore me, Caine, just pretend I'm not here." Famous last words, thought Frankie sourly, as she exchanged irritated looks with Horatio.

"Yes sir," Horatio replied, and if the honorific sounded a little forced, Frankie was certain the Chief wouldn't notice. "So far, we don't have a great deal to go on, as far as hard evidence goes, so we're having to focus on victimology. Calleigh, did you find anything unusual in Amanda Hardy's background?"

"Hardy? The school teacher? I hardly think she will have been involved Caine!" the Chief scoffed. Horatio sent a very pointed look in his direction, and he backed down in the face of the crystal stare. "But, well, this is your investigation, and I'm sure you know what you're doing."

"Not really, Horatio," Calleigh said, not looking at the Chief. Her answer was to Horatio, and to the team, and she at least was taking the Chief at his word and was pretending he wasn't there. Frankie hid a smile, and had to bite her lip as she caught Horatio's eye. "Amanda was born in LA, and did a degree in history at UCLA, before taking a teaching qualification there. She met her husband Brad Hardy at the first school she worked at, and then moved down here when her husband got a job as the bursar of University of Miami. She's been working at Pepper Hill School for 5 years now, and there's never been any trouble. The only police record she has is a dispute with a neighbour over some trees. There was a disturbance reported after her husband and the neighbour got into an argument, but the neighbour has since moved out of state."

"It's unlikely to be her," Frankie said. Horatio raised his eyebrows, and she continued, "Dr Alexandrou thinks it's something to do with righting a perceived wrong. Unless this argument was really serious, I doubt this is the work of an enraged gardener. Besides, he'd probably target the husband, rather than the wife."

Horatio nodded, silent for a moment as he thought. The CSIs, all used to Horatio, kept quiet, letting him think. Chief Johnson had no such scruples. "There, I told you it would have nothing to do with her!" He looked around the room in triumph. Frankie felt herself staring, and looked quickly at the floor. How did this man get to be Chief of Police?

"What about the other two?" Ryan asked.

"Charlie Hackford has two possession charges for cocaine on his sheet, but I'm not sure how useful that will be," Horatio answered. "The charges are for possession only, and he has no record of getting in trouble with his dealer. Frank pulled the dealer in earlier on, and he seems to think Hackford is the model addict."

"Drug dealers don't usually go in for bombings anyway," Eric frowned.

"Exactly. That leaves us with David Barker, the Centre Manager." Horatio paused for a second and frowned. "He's a strange case. Although he appears to be a model citizen, with the exception of a few parking violations and a speeding ticket, I can't find any record of him before 2000. I've checked other states as well, and it's as though he didn't exist until six years ago."

"On the run?" Calleigh suggested.

"Perhaps. Let's run his DNA through CODIS, just in case it turns up anything. Other than that, just keep at it people. He will make a mistake." When Horatio said it, Frankie believed him.

She hung around at the end of the meeting, and Horatio stayed put too. As the Eric and Calleigh left chattering about something, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him tight against her. Resting his head on top of hers, he smiled to himself.

"P-minus twelve hours," he murmured and she snorted with laughter. Everything about her intoxicated him: the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin, her laughter, everything. She leaned back a little, and met his gaze.

"I could just tell them this is a really bad time," she pleaded. "Dad would understand."

"I don't want him to understand. I don't want him to think I put work ahead of you, and that includes your family," he replied gently. "You are the most important person in my life, and I intend to convince your father of that. Besides, when would be a good time? We've also got some case on the go."

"Other cases aren't as important."

"They are to the victims," he said softly and she fell in love with him all over again. He cared so much about everyone else, put so much of himself into this work. She tightened her hold on him and reached up to kiss him. What was intended to be a brief kiss, a reminder of how much she loved him, developed quickly into something much more. Forgetting where she was, who could be watching them or anything but the feel of his lips on hers, Frankie lost herself in his embrace. One of his hands slid under her shirt and lightly slid over her skin, skirting gently around the ugly scar left by her recent hospital stay.

He pulled away, regret shining in his eyes, and she tried to get her breath back. "I wish we could continue this," he whispered. A knock on the door made them both jump.

Alexx was grinning and pretending to fan herself. "Whew, do you two heat things up around here! I thought the fire alarm was about to go off!"

Horatio blushed and dropped his head, but Frankie met her friend's eyes without embarrassment. "Nothing wrong with a bit of central heating," she smirked. "Besides, we'll both have to be on our best behaviour when my parents arrive!"

Alexx laughed, nodded, and walked off. Horatio was looking at her strangely. At her expression, he laughed and said, "You're right, you know. We'll have to start behaving ourselves tomorrow. Still, at least we've got tonight to be naughty." He walked off before she had a chance to reply, leaving her standing there, her mouth open in surprise. Then she shivered in anticipation. Tonight couldn't come fast enough.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: In answer to **bookwrangler**'s review, forget meet-the-parents jitters or a frustrating case; the worst is actually meeting the parents, especially the over-protective ex-FBI father! Just in case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating, Frankie's dad is simply a fictionalised version of my own dear dad, a retired police officer from Scotland Yard, who always threatened to fingerprint any boyfriend I introduced!

Frankie flipped her cell phone open and then flipped it shut. Flipped it open, flipped it shut. She kept repeating this for about five minutes until Horatio's patience wore thin, and he snatched the phone from her hands.

"Hey!"

"Stop fidgeting," he ordered. He took hold of both of her hands, as she had immediately started tapping on the edge of the chair. "Everything will be fine." They were sitting in Miami International Airport, in a coffee shop by the arrivals gates, waiting for her family to appear. Frankie had been on edge all morning, and Horatio had had to order Alexx to get her out of the lab before she broke something. When she was nervous, she couldn't stop herself fidgeting with anything, up to and including expensive pieces of lab equipment.

She took a gulp of coffee, and then started drumming her fingers on the table. Horatio sighed, but said nothing, only tightening his grip on her other hand. Grateful for his presence, as he could easily have excused himself and stayed at the lab, she held on to him and tried not to shake. Everything would be fine – Horatio had said so, and she believed him.

She spotted her father instantly. His tall figure easily stood out from the crowd as he ushered the rest of the family through. Frankie stood up, banged against the table in her nervousness, and only Horatio's lightning reflexes prevented her from greeting her family while drenched in the remnants of a large cappuccino.

"Hey Dad," she greeted him warmly, hugging him.

"How's my baby girl?" he smiled affectionately. Her mother also hugged her tightly, and Frankie had to bite back a grimace of pain as she was squeezed a little too tightly, touching her still-painful injury.

Horatio had stood back, letting Frankie greet her family by herself. She resembled her father a great deal: they had the same sharp grey eyes and strong cheekbones, although his hair was pewter grey. Her mother had Frankie's blond hair, albeit a couple of shades darker, and pale blue eyes. While she was a pretty lady, it was clear from their body language that the strength in that relationship came mainly from Mr Nelson. His was definitely the stronger character.

The sister resembled Mrs Nelson so closely it was almost possible to imagine them as sisters. Lucy was only eighteen months older than Frankie, but she dressed as though she was ten years older. While Frankie's parents appeared to have a basically equal relationship, although Mr Nelson was clearly the stronger personality, Lucy seemed completely overwhelmed when stood next to her husband. Darren was taller than both Horatio and Mr Nelson, with dark hair, dark eyes and a scornful expression. His arm was possessively around his wife's shoulders, and Horatio hated to admit it, but he instantly didn't like the man.

When Frankie flinched, however, he was brought back from his brief study of Frankie's family. He immediately stepped forward and touched her shoulder in concern.

"Are you all right?"

She grinned slightly falsely, but he decided not to press her. "I'm fine. Mom, Dad, this is Horatio Caine. Horatio, these are my parents, Mark and Victoria Nelson." Horatio shook hands with both of them, wishing he hadn't suddenly caught Frankie's nervousness. "Oh, and this is Lucy and Darren King, my sister and brother-in-law." Darren glared at Frankie, but Lucy merely smiled.

"It's lovely to meet you Horatio," Victoria Nelson smiled.

"And you, Mrs Nelson," he replied. Frankie envied the way he easily charmed her mother. "I've heard a lot about you both."

"Oh, well, you must call us Mark and Vicky," she said, patting his arm. "Now, we should go and pick our rental car, shouldn't we dear?"

Her husband, to Horatio's consternation, had been studying Horatio intently, and still didn't look away. "Of course Vicks," he said, but his eyes never left Horatio. "We'll head down there now. Horatio, I need a word with you in private later on." Frankie frowned at her father, but didn't interrupt.

Horatio swallowed hard but nodded. "Of course sir, whenever you want." His cell phone rang then, giving him a momentary respite. When he hung up, Frankie knew there was something wrong.

"I have to go," he said lowering his voice, so only Mark and Frankie could hear. "They've found another suspicious package. This one's been delivered to an insurance company downtown. I'll see you back at the lab."

"Horatio!" He had turned to go, but looked back when she called. She paused, unsure what to say. "Please, let the Bomb Squad deal with it!" His shoulders slumped slightly, like a child who has just had his favourite toy removed and she relented. "All right, but just be careful. I love you." An impish grin lit his features and she shook her head fondly.

Victoria linked arms with her youngest daughter as they walked towards the rental company. "Good looking, isn't he? And so polite and charming. Quite the Southern gentleman. Well done Frankie!"

"He'd better be a gentleman," Mark growled. Frankie rolled her eyes, and her mother laughed, but her father remained looking deadly serious. "I mean it. He's already let you get shot once, so he's got some ground to make up as far as I'm concerned."

Frankie froze in horror. Horatio still felt deeply guilty about her shooting, and refused to listen to her attempts at persuading him otherwise. The very last thing he needed, especially with such a big case on the go, was for her father to accuse him of not taking care of her. She would have to have a word with her father before he cornered Horatio.


	11. Chapter 11

Once Frankie had left most of her family at the Agramonte Hotel, she rushed back to the lab. Her father had offered to drive her, and she took the opportunity to have a short talk with him about Horatio.

"You didn't mean what you said about blaming Horatio for me getting shot, did you Dad?"

Mark frowned through the windshield as he navigated his way through the busy Miami streets. "He should have been protecting you."

"We weren't actually dating at the time," she reminded him gently, not wanting to go into detail about what _not dating_ had really involved. Her dad rolled his eyes. "Please, Dad, don't say anything to Horatio about this! I mean it," she added when he made no reply.

"Why not?" he asked stubbornly.

"He blames himself as it is," she said quietly, "and I don't want him thinking anyone else blames him as well." Mark looked across at his daughter and was alarmed to see the depth of emotion in her eyes. Perhaps this man would be the one to take her away. He'd certainly never seen her look so in love before.

"Promise me you won't say anything," Frankie said.

Mark gave in when he recognised the stubborn look in her eyes. It was the same look he knew he wore when he had made his mind up. He sighed. "All right I promise not to blame Horatio for letting you get shot." That still left him plenty of leeway to explain in graphic detail what would happen to anyone who upset his daughter.

"Dad," Frankie began, but was distracted when they pulled up outside CSI. "OK, well, I've got to go now, so I'll see you later? And please, Dad, behave!" She pecked him lightly on the cheek and ran into the building.

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She was desperately relieved to be greeted by Eric and Horatio in the trace lab. Thank God for that, she thought briefly, before turning her attention to the large package on the table. Wrapped in brown paper, it was addressed to Ms Kathryn Warner, and looked perfectly innocuous. Apart from the small hole that went all the way through the package, that is.

"Everything go all right?" she asked as lightly as she could manage.

"Yep, we disarmed it with a high pressure water cannon that blasted the detonator out of the way," Horatio said with some satisfaction. Frankie couldn't stop herself from reaching out and touching him though, just to reassure herself that he was all right.

"So it is the same bomber?"

"We'll soon find out. Chess, can you do a full background check on Kathryn Warner, to see why the package might be addressed to her. If there's nothing there, start on the rest of the staff."

"No problem," she replied, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. Eric snorted with laughter, and she turned to glare at him. "One more peep out of you Eric Delko, and I'll tell everyone what I saw you and Calleigh doing in the garage three days ago!" Eric turned an interesting shade of crimson and practically ran out of the room.

Horatio chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly. "And I had almost forgotten that vindictive streak of yours! Do I even want to know what they were doing?"

"Dancing," she grinned. "Eric was waltzing around the garage to a silly pop song with Calleigh. So nothing to reprimand them over."

"If I had to reprimand them every time, don't you think I would have had to fire myself by now?" His eyes sparkled as he kissed her again, this time not so lightly.

"Since neither of us can afford to lose our jobs, and I hear the boss can be a really grumpy bastard sometimes, I'd better get to work," Frankie laughed as she disentangled herself from his arms, his laughter following her out of the room.

She started to run checks on Kathryn Warner, and at first found it easy to trace her. Warner lived alone in Coral Gables, in a rented apartment, and was an insurance adjustor for Sunshine State Insurance. She had been working for them for four years, and before that had done some temporary placements for a secretarial agency based in Key Biscayne. She had no criminal record except two parking violations and a speeding ticket.

Frankie paused for a second. That had sounded familiar. Then she remembered: David Barker, the Centre manager, had had exactly the same record. Odd. Coincidences do happen though. She carried on researching Kathryn Warner only to come up against another problem. She had moved to Miami six years ago, and there was no record of her living or working anywhere in the state of Florida before that. Frowning, Frankie extended her search to the whole country. Still nothing.

Calleigh and Alexx walked in to find her staring at photos of Kathryn Warner and David Barker. "That's woman who had the package sent to her isn't it?" Calleigh asked.

"Ooh, was she lucky!" Alexx said. "Pretty lady – I'm glad she doesn't have an appointment with me today."

"She might before this is over," Frankie said cryptically. At her friends' worried looks, she added, "She's been targeted by the bomber specifically, I'm sure of it. She and David Barker are the reasons behind this. I just don't know what they've done to deserve this."

"Well, while we go find Horatio to tell him, why don't you update us on the parent situation?" Alexx asked, linking arms with both other women as she led them out of the office.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: OK now that ffnet is back up and running, here's the next chapter. Please read and review!

Horatio and Frankie both fell silent as they drove up to the Agramonte Hotel. They had arranged to meet Mark and Victoria for dinner in the hotel, while Lucy and Darren would spend the evening by themselves. Apparently Mark was keen to avoid his son-in-law after spending two months with him. Frankie was still amazed Horatio was here at all. She wouldn't have blamed him for sticking with the case, especially as they seemed to finally be getting somewhere. When she had mentioned this, he had simply repeated what he had said the day before: that nothing was as important to him as she was, and he intended to convince her father of that.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked again, as he pulled up outside the valet parking.

"I'm positive. Eric said he could do the searches on Warner and Barker himself, and I think it would be good for him. I'm thinking about suggesting he apply for level 3 soon, so he should have a few more investigations where he's the lead." As they walked into the hotel lobby, he took hold of her hand, before raising it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. "I love you."

Frankie broke into a huge grin as he said that. Not even her father's glare could dim her sudden rush of high spirits. Her parents joined them and they went into the hotel bar for pre-dinner drinks, which Horatio was beginning to suspect he would need, given that Mark was still staring at him.

Frankie ordered a glass of white wine, but Horatio only ordered a coke. The frown on Mark's face deepened. "Don't you drink?"

Victoria looked as though she was struggling not to laugh as she laid a warning hand on her husband's arm. Horatio blinked a couple of times at the harsh tone, but answered evenly, "I have to drive home, so I'll just have a glass of wine with my meal."

"Hmm." Mark would have doubtless continued his interrogation, but his wife elbowed him sharply in the side. He sighed and studied his drink silently for a second. "How's the case going?"

They chatted about the case, and Frankie gradually dropped out of the conversation as Horatio and Mark found some common ground. Victoria moved to sit next to her daughter so they could gossip quietly.

"I've warned your father to behave, but I don't think he listened," she said. "At least they've found something to talk about now."

"How long do you think that will last?" Frankie asked pessimistically.

"Long enough for your dad to see how much Horatio cares for you," Victoria said, taking her daughter's hand. "He just doesn't want to lose his favourite girl, but he'll get used to the idea when he realises that Horatio loves you. He just doesn't want to see you get hurt again."

"Horatio is very different to anyone else I've ever dated," Frankie snapped. "He would never hurt me."

"Then he'll convince Mark of that. Until then, you're just going to have to be patient with him. He loves you very much."

The men's discussion was becoming slightly heated. Mark glared at Horatio. "You aren't going to let Frankie go out in the field while this is going on are you? She's already been hurt once on the job!"

Frankie winced as she saw pain and guilt flare in Horatio's eyes, and stood up before he could answer. "Oh look, I think our table's ready!"

Sufficiently distracted, both men calmed down while they sat down, perused the menus and ordered the food. Mark clearly decided a truce was in order, at least while the women were present, and chatted mainly to his daughter, giving Horatio a much needed break. Frankie had warned him, he thought ruefully, but he still hadn't expected Mark to be quite so….protective. Although, thinking about it, Horatio himself was just as protective of Frankie these days, so it was difficult to blame the man. He just wished he was making a better impression.

He looked up and was surprised to see Victoria studying him as intently as Mark had done. She smiled when he noticed her scrutiny though. "Frankie tells me you have a young niece called Madison," she said lightly. "I understand she hasn't been well in recent years."

"She had AML: acute myelogenous leukaemia." He sighed heavily. "She's doing much better now though. She's been in remission for two years, so we've almost definitely got it beaten."

"The poor thing! Still, that is good news that she's getting better. Do you plan on having children yourself?" Victoria asked innocently. Horatio choked on his wine.

"Mom!" Frankie sounded horrified.

"I'm just asking, sweetheart."

Horatio managed to get his breath back sufficiently to answer. "We haven't actually talked about that." He paused for a second, and gathered his courage. "But, I'd like to, one day." He held his breath, and didn't dare look at Frankie.

She touched his knee gently under the table and smiled when he turned to look at her. "So would I," she said softly. "So would I."

"Wonderful! I do so long to be a grandmother." Victoria sounded content, Mark looked like thunder.

Frankie beamed happily at her father, and he grudgingly smiled back. Mark waited until the end of the meal, when both women disappeared into the restroom, and left the men in the bar alone, before he decided to have a quiet word.

"Horatio, I need to have a little chat with you." Horatio fought the urge to search for reinforcements, in the shape of Frankie, and merely nodded.

They made their way to a quiet corner of the bar, where no one would be able to overhear them. Mark studied the man before closely. Horatio cared deeply about Frankie, that much was obvious. Whether or not he was good enough for Mark's youngest daughter was still to be decided.

"I hope you realise how lucky you are to be with Frankie."

Horatio looked surprised that that should be in doubt. "Of course I do sir. She's wonderful, far too good for me."

Hmm, at least he admitted it. "You're quite a bit older than her."

"I know."

"Fourteen years. That doesn't bother you?"

Horatio was beginning to sound as though he was getting angry. "Like I said before, she's far too good for me, but if the age difference doesn't bother her, then it doesn't bother me."

Mark nodded, pleased to hear a little heat enter the other man's tone. Frankie could be a bit of a handful, she would need someone who could argue with her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his wife approach with Frankie following her. Time was running short. He gave Horatio one final assessing stare and nodded.

"All right, you'll do." Horatio's eyebrows hitched up at that. "I want you to remember something: if you ever, _ever_ upset my little girl, I will kill you. You can take that as a promise. If, on the other hand, you ever hit her, or even _think_ about hitting her, I will string you up by your own entrails before I let you die. That's also a promise. If however, you look after her and make her happy, then you and I will get along just fine. Do I make myself clear?"

Horatio, lost for words, could only nod. Mark smiled at him for the first time, and walked back to join his family, Horatio trailing behind. Frankie pulled him aside instantly.

"Is everything all right? You look very pale."

Horatio looked across at Mark, who was chatting to his wife. "Your father and I have, um, come to an understanding," he replied. A slight understatement, but true enough, he thought. Besides, he was beginning to like Mark's way of thinking, and was already planning on using some of those threats on anyone who even thought of dating Madison. Or his own children, he thought, suddenly very happy again.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I know it's taken me ages to post again, but I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Would you believe this is my third attempt at it? The problem was that I knew what I wanted to say, and what information I wanted to give out, but actually getting that down on paper (or on computer) was tricky. I didn't help myself by having a brilliant (or so I think) idea for an NCIS story, which utterly distracted me from this. The point is, this story is coming to an end, as our heroes are getting close to catching the bad guys, but you may need to stick with me as I work out the kinks in the story, so that it actually makes sense. Enough rambling...on with the tale. Please read and review as normal!

* * *

Horatio woke up early and stayed still for a moment, knowing he should let Eric get on with the investigation himself. That meant staying out of his way. Which meant not rushing into work. He stayed still for a further ten seconds before giving in and getting up. Frankie rolled into the hollow left by his body and sighed contentedly. He pulled the covers up over her shoulders and she curled up tighter. He watched her sleep for almost a minute before he remembered he was meant to be in a rush to get into work.

"I love you," he whispered, awed as always that anyone could love him back.

CSI was buzzing with activity when he found Eric. The young man was grinning triumphantly, and Horatio raised his eyebrows curiously. "H! We got them!" Excitement shone in Eric's dark eyes. "I found them, and we know all about it!"

Horatio held up a hand. "Whoa, slow down. Who have you found, and what do we know all about?"

Eric flushed. "OK, so we knew David Barker and Kathryn Warner both appeared out of the blue in Miami six years ago. There was no sign of them on any database, and CODIS and AFIS both lucked out. So, I thought about why they might have had to disappear. I ran a search for unsolved crimes from six years ago. In North Carolina, there was a spate of armed robberies that stopped six years ago after one of the gang was shot and another arrested. That meant that two of the gang disappeared off the face of the planet, with all the money. A description of one of the robbers matches David Barker, and the other one was definitely a woman, who basically fits Warner's description."

Horatio, impressed, nodded to himself. "That was the only crime that fits the profile?"

"The only one where there were no clues about the identity of the perps, and where one of them was a woman."

"Nice work Eric." Eric stood a little taller at that. Horatio rarely was effusive in his praise, but it was always genuine. "Pull Warner in. I think we should have a little chat with her. We still have to find the bomber."

"The robber who got arrested never gave away anything about his partners, but he was recently released on bail. What if they weren't willing to share the goods now?"

Horatio doubted that, the graphologist's profile suggested someone other than a typical criminal. But Eric was on a roll, and it seemed a shame to ruin that now, for what was only a hunch. So he merely nodded and said, "It's a possibility. Get Ryan to go with Frank and pull Ms Warner in, while you check up on the status and whereabouts of our parolee."

* * *

Frankie was allowed a lot of leeway still with her timekeeping due to her sick leave, mainly because when the Captain had suggested anything else, Horatio had stared at him silently until the Captain backed down. So no one said anything when she came in half an hour after she should have.

"What's going on?"

Calleigh was typing quickly, and answered without looking around. "Ryan's gone to get Kathryn Warner. Eric found a string of bank robberies that ended six years ago, which ties Barker and Warner together. Even if we don't have any evidence of that just yet," she grinned. "I'm just trying to find out a little more about the one robber who was arrested." Calleigh all but glowed with pride at Eric's good work.

"And Eric and Horatio?"

"Eric's running down some trace evidence from the bombs, to see if there's anything there. No idea where Horatio is, but when you find him, could you tell him that the other robber was a Marty Periman, who did five years and was released three months ago?"

"No problem." Frankie smiled: it was amazing the difference a solid lead could do to morale. Yesterday, everyone had been down and lethargic. Today, everyone was upbeat, and raring to go. Unusually, Horatio was in his office. He rarely stayed there for anything other than paperwork. Except for that time….she shivered as she thought back to the first time she had ended up in Horatio's bed.

"Hey you." She smiled fondly at him, one hand in the act of running through his head in a gesture of annoyance.

"Good afternoon," he commented, making a show of looking at the time. Frankie snickered. Give him ten minutes and he'd be telling her to take it easy.

"So, Dad officially thinks you'll do," she commented, sitting down with a sigh of relief. Some days, her back just _ached_ for no good reason. Horatio's eyes flashed with concern, but he let it go for now. "He said that you were actually quite intelligent. For a local cop." She laughed at Horatio's hurt expression. For some unknown reason, FBI hated local police and vice versa. It was always the same.

"I'm thrilled I make the grade," he replied dryly.

"You know him. That's a big compliment. Anyway, I hear we're making real progress on the case."

"Hmm. We'll see. I'm not convinced that the bomber is a disgruntled partner from six years ago."

"Then who?"

"Jessie Delaney was in the bank when the robbery went down, and got killed by one of the robbers. Her father was in the Marines. It was a military style bomb." And that would fit with Dr Alexandrou's assessment of the notes, Frankie thought. Righting a wrong. A murdered daughter definitely counted as a wrong.

"Where does her father live these days?"

"He just moved to Miami. Two months ago," Horatio said quietly. "If I'm wrong, I'll be putting him through all of this again for nothing." He sighed, shuffling papers on his desk. "If you're not busy, I'd like you to interview Kathryn Warner with Eric."

"Fine."

"But take it easy, OK? There's no need to overtax yourself. What did I say?" he asked, frowning in bemusement as she started to laugh. "What?"


	14. Chapter 14

Kathryn Warner was the very picture of calm self-possession when Frankie entered the interview room, closely followed by Eric. She was tall for a woman, with shoulder length brown hair, subtly highlighted, and soft brown eyes. Alexx was right, Frankie mused, she is a pretty woman. Very pretty. And well aware of it, if the way she kept running her fingers through her hair was any evidence. Warner was also very well dressed, and Frankie spotted a high-end designer watch on her wrist. A designer that would be difficult to afford on an insurance adjustor's salary. Frankie smiled to herself as she sat down. Criminals always made the same mistakes. It would be infuriating if it wasn't so helpful.

"Thank you for coming in Ms Warner. We do appreciate the co-operation." Polite to start with, don't let her know how much is really known, that was the key Frankie thought.

"Ah just hope you catch that awful man who sent me that package!" Warner's accent reminded Frankie momentarily of Calleigh's, but Warner's accent was far more pronounced. She leaned back in her chair and pulled out a cigarette, before gesturing to Eric. "If you would be so kind, sir?"

Eric's eyes widened, but he said politely, "I'm afraid we have a no smoking policy inside this building." Warner's smiled dimmed for a second, and a flash of annoyance appeared in her eyes, but she put the cigarette away without any argument.

Frankie smothered a smile. "It's about that package that we need to talk to you." Warner transferred her attention back to Frankie for a brief moment, interest showed clearly, before she turned back to Eric and smiled at him. "We think there may be a link between the attempt on your life and the bomb at the Everglades Open Centre. Have you ever been to the Centre?"

Warner blinked in surprise – she really was a very good actress, Frankie thought – and shook her head. "No, never. What on earth makes you think those horrible attacks are linked?"

Eric answered before Frankie could, and she hoped he remembered not to give too much away. "Our explosives expert has noticed that the bombs were identical in composition and structure. We really need to know if there are any links between you and the people at the Centre."

Eric was doing well, Frankie thought. Horatio was right, he was ready to move up to CSI Level 3. She pushed a piece of paper over to Warner and said, "This is a list of the victims claimed by the blast at the Centre. If you know any of them, let us know."

Warner scanned the list quickly, and then shook her head. "No, I don't know any of these people. Wait, yes, one of the names is familiar." Both Frankie and Eric leaned forward expectantly, albeit surprised that she should admit the acquaintance. "Amanda Hardy. I think she has a policy with Sunshine State. I'm sure I've written to her." Frankie sighed and sat back in her chair.

"I doubt this is about an insurance claim gone bad," she said dryly. "I'm curious – where did you live before you came to Miami?"

Warner looked startled, truly startled for a second, but she recovered nicely. "Well, I don't know that it's any of your business, Ms Nelson, but I lived in North Carolina for many years. Charleston is a beautiful city. Have you ever been?"

"I'm afraid not." Frankie paused for a moment, wishing Horatio was doing this interview. He was so much better at the sudden 'reveal' of information that would fluster a suspect and trip them up. "What name did you use in Charleston, Ms Warner?"

Kathryn Warner lost all her colour and stared at them, her eyes wide. "What? How…I…you, I mean." She took a deep breath. "What are you talking about?"

"Your name wasn't Kathryn Warner while you were living in North Carolina. We know, because I spent all of yesterday trying to find where you lived before Miami. And I can't find any trace of you. So you weren't in North Carolina under this name." Eric's tone was hard.

"I changed my name. That's hardly a crime." Kathryn had regained her poise now. "I really don't see why I'm being treated as a criminal here. I'm the victim! Why all the questions?" Her voice, now that she had got over the initial shock, had taken on a wounded tone. Frankie watched her admiringly. Really, she should have gone into acting rather than crime.

"Not registering the change of name is a crime though," Eric snapped. She turned a cold look on him, but he met it seriously.

"I was running from an abusive relationship. I was scared," she said flatly.

"So what was your name?"

Warner hesitated long enough for Frankie to confirm that she had been involved in something criminal – and the bank robberies seemed like the most likely candidates – before she said very quietly, "Kathryn Ellison."

"Thank you." Frankie smiled as Eric stood up abruptly. "If you wouldn't mind waiting here Ms Warner – I mean Ellison – we need to pursue a few more lines of inquiry." She followed Eric out of the door, and touched his arm lightly. "What's up? You're very snappy all of a sudden."

"We need to find her partner – the one that got away, and we're wasting too much time playing games with this woman!"

"If we're right about the motives behind the bombings, then there won't be any more until Kathryn leaves here. We can't afford to scare her off Eric. We have no evidence to prove she did anything wrong. At the moment, she is just a victim." Frankie spoke soothingly and Eric looked annoyed.

"I know. It just grates that those kids died because of her and David Barker. If they hadn't robbed that bank, those two little kids would still be alive." More like Horatio than he knew, Frankie thought to herself.


	15. Chapter 15

Horatio was waiting impatiently at the front desk when the elevator dinged open. Tripp and another detective emerged, carrying two large boxes sealed with evidence tape. The detective with Tripp looked around in apparent admiration of the crime lab, but Horatio heard him snort under his breath and murmur something that sounded like 'show-offs'.

"Thank you for coming down to us, Detective Fraser," he greeted him. Fraser eyed him coldly and rolled his eyes, and Horatio gritted his teeth. As though he hadn't had a long enough week – he did not need an out-of-town detective making life tough.

"I don't know what the hell you think you'll find." Fraser was looking increasingly annoyed. "My crime lab did look at this stuff. We couldn't find anything that would tell us who the other two robbers were."

"I know, but we have some of the latest video enhancement software in the country, which simply wasn't available six years ago. We may be able to find something new." Horatio kept his tone conciliatory, although it took some effort. He'd read the court reports on the one robber who did make it to trial, and the Raleigh lab had not come across as particularly thorough. There were one or two points that Horatio had spotted on a quick read of the trial that needed further investigation, so the odds were that there was lots more that could be done. There was little point in mentioning that, however, Fraser was touchy enough as it was.

The CCTV footage from the bank was given to Dan, while Horatio and Ryan looked through the rest of the evidence. Determined not to leave any stone unturned, Alexx was asked to look at the autopsy report of the one robber, Jason Friedland, who didn't make it out alive. Fraser hovered uncomfortably, peering over Ryan's shoulder until Horatio's patience ran out and he persuaded Tripp to take the detective out for coffee.

"You owe me for this one H," the big Texan mock-grumbled.

"You'll think of something," Horatio rejoined, a wry smile on his face.

Dan Cooper was still poring over the CCTV videos from six years ago when Horatio stopped to check on progress. He leapt about a foot in the air when Horatio coughed slightly to catch his attention. "Jesus H! Don't do that!"

"What do we have?" Quietly amused, as always, at the way none of the CSIs he employed ever seemed to notice his approach, Horatio focused on the screen.

"OK, so, firstly, the quality is really poor, but I've cleaned it up and it's a bit clearer now. Here we have the bank before the robbers enter. Normal Saturday morning, with a bit of a queue, just beginning to get busy. Then, at 09:45, three of the robbers come in. One of them has an automatic weapon, and he starts firing up into the air. The other two get everyone to lie down, while a fourth appears from the back, holding the manager and a gun. From the police reports, this was the standard method they used in the three previous robberies. This is the moment when it all starts going wrong."

Horatio watched as a blurry figure in the uniform of a security guard began inching along the floor, towards the far wall. The security guard managed to get over to the wall, where he pressed a button. "What's he doing?"

"That's one of the emergency buttons in the bank – linked to the police station. They responded in five minutes, but it was all over by then anyway. Watch." One of the robbers noticed the guard and started gesticulating wildly at his accomplices. The manager, obviously realising that the robbers' minds were not focused on the job, elbowed the robber holding him, before wrestling with the gun. When this started, the security guard tackled another of the robbers, knocking the gun from his hand. The two robbers without guns, and who were being largely ignored now, took the opportunity to run back out of the bank.

The bank manager was winning the fight, but the gun looked as though it discharged unexpectedly. "That's the bullet that killed Jessie Delaney. You can see it ricochet off the glass partition and hit her leg."

Horatio nodded. "Her autopsy report said it struck the femoral artery. She bled out in minutes. The paramedics pronounced at the scene."

"After she's shot, the manager is still fighting for the gun, and it goes off again, but this time it hits the robber. He drops down dead, and then the police arrive. The security guard kept control of his robber, and he got arrested."

"So that's Marty Periman and Jason Friedland. Can you go in tighter on the other two robbers? We need to see them close up."

"No problem," Dan said, already typing commands into the computer. "The robbers are wearing balaclavas, but I think we should still be able to….there – you see it? A birth mark on this one's neck. I'll do a print out."

"What about the other one?"

"Nothing yet." Dan sighed. "I've been over this several times now, and I can't see any way of IDing them."

"Run the footage again." Horatio watched intently, hoping against hope that there was a way of making the identification. He watched to the end, when the police arrived and frowned. "Play that again." There it was again. Just as the robbers left the bank in a hurry, both pulled off their balaclavas, obviously anxious to blend in with the crowds. "Can you get a reflection off the bank's doors? We might be able to get an ID off that."

Dan shook his head in amazement. "I've seen this tape more times than I can count, and I never spotted that. I'll get right on it."

"Fresh eyes always help," Horatio offered, as he took the print out of the birth mark and went in search of the others.

* * *

Frankie was hovering in the break room, waiting for Alexx to finish reading the autopsy on Jason Friedland when Horatio found them. Both women turned to smile at him, although Alexx wondered if he even noticed she was in the room. Really, she thought fondly, those two were good together. Horatio sat down next to Frankie – again, Alexx thought, something he just never did before he met her – and put his arm around her.

"How are you? Not too tired?" he asked, a worried frown creasing his forehead.

"I'm fine. Kathryn Warner's real name is actually Kathryn Ellison, or at least that's what she's claiming now. That woman missed her calling in life. She'd have made a killing in Hollywood." Frankie's voice left no doubt as to her opinion of Kathryn Ellison.

"How about you Alexx? Was it a productive afternoon?"

"Not really sugar. Jason Friedland's autopsy report was very thorough and very straightforward. Shot in the chest, died of exsanguination. Nothing unusual at all."

Horatio nodded slowly. "It was always going to be a long shot. What about this? Do you recognise it?" He handed the ME the blown up image of the birth mark Dan had pulled off the CCTV. Alexx stared hard, but shook her head. Frankie, on the other hand, raised her eyebrows.

"I've seen that today. Kathryn Warner-whatever-the-hell-her-name-is has a birth mark just like it. On her neck. Where is this from?"

"CCTV footage taken during the bank robbery in Raleigh." Horatio spoke quietly, his tone almost the same as normal, but there was an undercurrent of excitement there that Frankie knew meant the case was really starting to come together. "So we can place Kathryn at the robbery. Now we just need to link David Barker to it."

"And find the bomber," Alexx reminded him.

"And find the bomber," Horatio repeated firmly.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Just so no lawyer can get all excited about copyright infringement, the song quoted in this chapter (Meatloaf's 'I would do anything for love) is simply a guilty pleasure of mine, and is not in any way owned by me.

* * *

Dan Cooper found Horatio just before he was about to go with Frankie and confront Kathryn. The AV tech was bubbling over with excitement, his eyes sparkling. "I enlarged the reflection like you suggested H, and look who I found!" Jubilantly, he handed over the photo. Horatio exchanged a thoughtful look with Frankie.

"Ten out of ten for Eric," Frankie smiled. "Give that man a gold star." The reflection clearly and unequivocally showed David Barker, the late manager of the Everglades Open Centre.

"Now that is interesting," Horatio commented. "Nice work Mr Cooper."

Kathryn Ellison was fiddling nervously with the clasp on her handbag when they walked in. When she saw them, however, she straightened in her chair and stilled her hands, causing Frankie to once more admire her acting skills.

"Thank you for being so patient," Horatio said smoothly as they sat down. "We have just a few more questions."

"I hope you're going to be more polite than the last man," she snapped. "After all, I am the victim here. How many times do I need to say it?"

"Do you know David Barker?"

Kathryn frowned. "Isn't that one of the people who died at the Open Centre bomb?" Both Frankie and Horatio nodded. "I've already told you that I don't know anyone from there!" A hint of exasperation found her voice – a nice touch, Frankie considered sourly.

"Then why can we prove that you and he robbed a bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, together six years ago?" Horatio's voice had taken on that deceptively soft tone that usually meant he knew he held all the aces. Kathryn took a sharp breath, her eyes suddenly very wide. Carelessly, almost, Horatio tossed down the two CCTV images: one of Kathryn's birthmark and once of David Barker.

"You know," she breathed incredulously. "Oh my God!" It was half-exclamation, half-prayer.

"We know," Horatio confirmed. Frankie watched as Kathryn seemed to visibly age ten years before their eyes. Her shoulders sagged and her face lost its sharp focus. She seemed to almost blur at the ages as she let go of the mask she had been wearing. Kathryn buried her head in her hands and gave a choking sob.

"I knew you'd find us one day. David said no, but I knew." Even her voice had changed. No longer full of confidence, she instead sounded broken. Frankie watched her warily. She knew full well how good an actress Kathryn Ellison was.

"David?"

"David Barker's real name was David Hobart," Kathryn replied wearily. "We've been together for ten years now."

"Bonnie and Clyde Mark 2," Frankie murmured, earning her a spiteful glare from Kathryn and an amused smile from Horatio.

"What would you know?" Kathryn snapped. "I loved him. And now he's dead!" She started to cry, and Frankie knew that this, at least, was not an act. Shoulders shaking, Kathryn sobbed disconsolately, tears streaming down her face.

Horatio shifted uncomfortably in his chair before handing her a clean, white handkerchief. Kathryn gave Frankie a look that clearly read 'is he playing me?', to which Frankie shrugged hopelessly. "In your own time," Horatio prompted Kathryn gently.

"It was Marty and David's idea." Kathryn spoke tiredly, defeatedly. "They had been colleagues at the advertising business before they were both sacked. The company was downsizing, and several people were let go. David couldn't find another job, and neither could Marty. David started joking around, saying things like they might as well start robbing banks. Marty said that it was a brilliant idea, and he knew just the person to help. Jason and he had been at school together, and Jason had always been a trouble-maker. They got the guns, and made the plans. I only got involved because they needed a fourth person."

"What about the last job in Raleigh?" Frankie asked softly, unwilling to break the flow of words.

"It all just went horribly wrong. It was the security guard's fault. We'd never hurt anyone before, just threatened to." Kathryn's eyes welled up with fresh tears. "David grabbed my arm and we just ran out of there. I was so scared that we would get caught, but David kept calm, said we needed to get out of town. I always had wanted to come to Miami," she said wistfully. "The money from the other robberies was enough to start our new lives. We never lived together just in case anyone was tracking us, and I know he saw other women, but we were together. That was all that mattered."

Having signed a full confession, Horatio and Frankie left Kathryn in the interview room. Walking back through CSI together, Frankie linked her arm through his. "So would you rob a bank if I suggested it? And then run away to a new state, just so we could be together?" she asked him jokingly.

He considered the question a lot more seriously than she had intended him to. "You know what Chess? Love is a powerful thing. And it can be very destructive. Who knows what people will do in the name of love?"

"_I_ _would do anything for love, but I won't do that_," Frankie sang quietly, not wanting the whole of CSI to hear her singing Meatloaf. Horatio chuckled and kissed her.

"I would do anything for you," he promised.

* * *

Leaving Frankie to get yet another cup of coffee, Horatio set off to find Detective Fraser. Unable to help himself, he was looking forward to pointing out how much better his lab had fared in catching the bank robbers. Looking forward to it, that was, until he saw Fraser chatting amicably with someone who looked suspiciously like Mark Nelson.

Subduing the internal groan, he made his way over to the two men. "Good afternoon gentlemen. Detective Fraser, I have some good news."

Mark raised an eyebrow, but Fraser looked impatient. "Solved the case have you?"

"Actually yes," Horatio replied, trying not to sound too triumphant. From the suppressed smile on Mark's face, he might not have succeeded. Fraser goggled at him and he continued, "Kathryn Ellison has made a full confession regarding her part in the robberies, as well as that of David Hobart. I assume you'll want to try them in North Carolina?"

Stunned into silence momentarily, Fraser could only nod his head. As he turned away, pulling out his cell phone, presumably to call his superiors in Raleigh to tell them the result, he muttered audibly, "Damn Yankee. Come down here acting all smart. Damn Yankee. He should go back to New York, or wherever the hell he's from."

Mark smirked and followed Horatio to a different corner of the lobby for a little privacy. "I don't know whether he's referring to me or you there Horatio."

"I think it might be me sir," he replied, looking back over at the still-muttering Fraser.

"You can drop the sir now," Mark commented dryly. "You've impressed me enough without going overboard. Not that you're up against much competition when it comes to my son-in-law. Still, you'll do. Just remember what I said."

"I'm not sure I'll ever forget," Horatio rejoined with a smile.

"I realise you're very busy, but we'd like to invite you and Frankie out for a meal with the whole family tonight. I think it's about time you had to suffer Darren's company. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

Horatio nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you know a restaurant that's nice, but that you don't ever want to go back to?" Mark grinned as he saw the other man's confusion. "You'll understand by the end of the night, I promise you. Well, we'll see you later. Take care of my little girl Horatio."

"Always."


	17. Chapter 17

Horatio called a team meeting in the break room once he had seen Detective Fraser leave the building. Calleigh, who was working on a drive-by shooting as well, looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, her normally sunny disposition dampened by the sheer amount of work she was facing. Ryan too was looking tired, but he at least looked at though he could keep going for a while yet. Calleigh looked about ready to drop. Frankie and Alexx, both on copious amounts of caffeine, were sitting on the sofa, enjoying the brief respite from work. The two bombs coupled with the bank robberies had lead to long days for the whole team, and even though the case was coming together nicely, everyone was beginning to show the strain. Everyone, that was, apart from Horatio and Eric, both of whom looked as fresh as ever.

"Kathryn Warner and David Barker are the missing two bank robbers from six years ago," Horatio confirmed, using their original names to avoid confusion. "Nice call Eric." The Cuban grinned widely at the praise. "We still have to find the bomber, ladies and gentlemen. Just because we have the people he was targeting in custody, we cannot guarantee he will not strike again. The next bomb may be coming here. Or to the prison holding Warner."

"Marty Periman lives upstate, in St Petersburg. I still think it's more likely to be him than anyone else," Eric said.

"It's a possibility. However, I also want to look into Richard Delaney, the father of the murdered girl from the bank robbery. He just moved to Coconut Grove." Eric looked mutinous but grudgingly nodded his agreement. "Eric, take Frank with you on a road trip upstate. Go visit our parolee and see what he has to say. You never know, he may have received suspicious packages as well. Mr Wolfe, you're with me."

Calleigh took a sharp breath and Frankie shot her a worried look. Then the petite ballistics expert seemed to droop even further. Eric, who had initially looked pleased that Horatio trusted him to follow his instincts, bit his lip. "Uh, H, could I take Calleigh instead of Frank?"

Horatio frowned. "Don't you have a drive-by to work on Calleigh?"

"Yep. It doesn't matter." Calleigh spoke with a forced brightness.

Eric rolled his eyes. "It's kind of a special day, H. I'd booked a restaurant and everything."

"You had?" Calleigh asked, her voice softening as she looked at him. Eric flushed and Horatio exchanged amused glances with Frankie.

"Eric, take Frank with you to St Petersburg, leave Calleigh to work on her drive-by and when all this is over, I will personally pay for a meal for you two at the finest restaurant in Miami to make it up to you!"

"Thanks H!"

"You don't have to do that Horatio," Calleigh laughed.

"Go and get on with some work before I change my mind," Horatio shook his head fondly, as the three young CSIs left the room, laughing. He fixed Frankie and Alexx with a stern stare. "Not one word out of either of you. Not one word."

They waited until he left the room before they spoke. "Just a big softie," Frankie said, watching his lean figure disappear down the corridor.

Alexx snorted with laughter. "Oh yeah, honey, he was really known for being 'just a big softie' before you showed up!"

* * *

Richard Delaney worked as a security guard for one of the exclusive jewellers on Collins Avenue. As always, the traffic on Collins was such that Horatio was forced to park the Hummer a block away and walk. Ryan easily fell into the fast walk of the patrol officer, and thought momentarily that he missed the simplicity of life in patrol. Glancing at Horatio by his side, Ryan internally shook his head. Whatever problems had occurred during his time at CSI, he wouldn't go back to Patrol for anything. He was a CSI now, and that would be where he would stay. By the time he had finished his internal dialogue, Ryan realised he had lost his supervisor. Horatio was standing outside a jeweller's, seemingly entranced by what he saw.

Backtracking through the crowd, Ryan followed Horatio's gaze. More jewellery. What was the big deal? It wasn't the shop they were looking for, so why had they stopped? "H? Is everything OK?" he asked cautiously.

Horatio blinked a couple of times, before focusing on Ryan. "Everything's fine." He looked back at the window, hesitantly, suddenly seeming nervous. Not a word Ryan had ever associated with Horatio Caine, not even when he had been arrested for murder. "What do you think of that ring?"

The ring he had indicated was a marquise cut diamond in the middle of two emeralds. Ryan looked blank. "It's nice, I guess."

Horatio appeared to recollect where they were and why there were there. "Let's go see Richard Delaney." By the time they reached the shop that Delaney worked for, Horatio seemed, to Ryan's relief, to be back to normal. Delaney was a large black man, at least as tall as Frank Tripp, if not a little taller. His hair was still cut in the Marine style and his dark eyes missed little. His gaze swept the store constantly, eyes moving at an even pace. The gun at his hip was clearly superfluous. It would be a brave and foolhardy thief who attempted anything on Richard Delaney's watch.

"Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Can we have a word please?" Delaney okayed it with his manager and led them to a back room, obviously used as a staff room. There were a few comfortable looking sofas and armchairs, but Horatio deliberately chose the table and chairs.

"Can we make this quick?" If Delaney was uncomfortable with their presence, he wasn't showing it yet.

"I have some good news Mr Delaney. The people responsible for the death of your daughter six years ago have been caught." Horatio paused for a moment before he said sincerely, "I am sorry for your loss."

That shook Delaney. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, smiling and jovial. "I knew you could do it Lieutenant. Knew you'd find me too." He gave a relaxed sigh and interlaced his fingers behind his head.

Ryan looked startled, and glanced at Horatio, expecting to see the same emotion mirrored on his face. Horatio nodded, as if to himself, and smiled sadly, but looked as though this was expected. "David Barker died in the first explosion, and we have Kathryn Warner in custody now. She's been charged with armed robbery and will be extradited up to North Carolina to face those charges. The evidence we have against her is compelling and she signed a full confession. She will be found guilty."

Delaney nodded, still beaming. "So my little girl has got her justice now. Thank you Lieutenant. I do appreciate it."

A touch of anger burned through Horatio's calm manner. "Five innocent people died with David Barker. Who knows how many could have died with Kathryn Warner? What about their justice?"

The smile was wiped from Delaney's face. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I thought that it would just bring them to your attention. I never meant anyone else to die. It just got out of hand."

"Sending high explosives through the mail can do that," Ryan snapped.

Horatio stood up. "You'll come with us to CSI without any trouble, won't you Mr Delaney?" He nodded slowly, the exultation at finding justice for those responsible for his daughter's death leaving him as the reality of his situation came home.

Ryan placed Delaney under arrest, removing the gun and reading him his rights before they led him back to the Hummer. Delaney was as good as his word and did not protest at all. Once he was in the back of the vehicle, Horatio turned to Ryan, "Let's head over to Delaney's home. I know we have a confession, but some hard evidence is still needed. Call Calleigh for help only if you absolutely have to, she's busy enough. Oh, and Mr Wolfe? Be careful, he may have set some booby-traps."

Horatio drove back to CSI with a troubled frown. While it was always good to wrap a case up, this felt a little too neat. He had a feeling Delaney was holding something back. Glancing at his watch, he realised that would have to wait until the morning. Dinner with Frankie's family beckoned. Delaney would just have to wait.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Just in case anyone thinks my imagination has run away with me here, and that no one could possibly be that rude or self-important, think again! My uncle, who shall remain nameless just in case, is infamous within my family for being the most obnoxious, irritating man in the world. So Darren isn't based on him at all. No sir. Well...maybe just a little! (Can you spot when I was being sarcastic?)

As always, please read and review!

* * *

The restaurant they were due to meet her family at was one of their favourites, and nothing Frankie said could persuade Horatio that they should go somewhere else. To make matter worse, it was run by friends of theirs: Ramiro and Alejandra Gomez had run the Delicio restaurant for years, and Frankie had had to admit the seafood there was the best in Miami. Still, she thought sadly, this would be the last time they went to the Delicio. 

"What is so bad about this man that you can't take him to a restaurant more than once?" Horatio had asked repeatedly.

"I can't explain. Darren's just horrific in a social setting," Frankie sighed. "We could call my parents and tell them to meet us somewhere else?"

"No. Not until I get an explanation."

"Don't be so stubborn!"

"Don't be so irrational!" Frankie hit him on the arm for that comment and settled into a grumpy silence. They were still pointedly ignoring each other when her parents arrived, with her older sister and her husband following. Lucy immediately greeted Horatio with a kiss on the cheek, but her husband sat down and glowered at the surroundings.

"Not exactly what I was expecting," he drawled. "I thought you said this was a good restaurant Frankie."

Gritting her teeth, and whacking Horatio once more on the arm for good measure, Frankie smiled as sweetly as she could manage. "The food here is excellent. Alejandra is an amazing chef. She's brilliant with all manner of seafood." Darren rolled his eyes.

Ramiro made his way over with a stack of menus. "Francesca, mi niña, how are you? Better, yes? And who are your friends?" When it was explained that Frankie's family were visiting, Ramiro's smile widened as he nudged Horatio on the shoulder. "Ah, Horatio, you are having to be on best behaviour, yes? No shooting anyone tonight!"

Horatio flushed and muttered, "I only did that once." Frankie had her hand over her mouth to stifle laughter, as she remembered the ill-fated attempt to rob the Delicio while Horatio and she had been enjoying a meal there. Things always seemed to happen around him, she mused. Lucy and Darren both looked horrified, but her father seemed impressed.

The chef laughed at his friend's discomfort. "Like I said, no shooting tonight. Now, for you tonight, we have some excellent squid, fresh today, and Alejandra says her swordfish is magnificent tonight. Oh, and I would suggest the Gallo white Grenache – very fruity and refreshing."

A couple of bottles of the fine rose wine were soon on their table, while decisions were being made over what to eat. Frankie and Horatio didn't look at the menus, both having learnt long ago to go with Ramiro's recommendations. The Delicio menu had a wide variety of fish dishes, everything from grilled swordfish to paella, as well as a few other staples, such as steak and chicken. By the time Ramiro returned, Frankie was starving.

"So what will you have?"

Victoria followed her youngest daughter's lead and ordered the swordfish, while Horatio ordered the fried calamari squid rings. Mark ordered the surf 'n' turf platter of red snapper and steak, while Lucy went with seafood paella. Darren, naturally Frankie thought, had to be difficult.

"I think I'll have the chicken kiev," he said. Horatio raised his eyebrows. The man was at a restaurant specialising in seafood, and he ordered a chicken kiev? Perhaps Frankie did have a point.

Ramiro took their orders to the kitchen and reappeared carrying a couple of small plates. One contained olives marinated in Alejandra's secret recipe (which Frankie suspected was lemon, coriander and something she couldn't quite place) while the other held anchovy fillets soaked in lemon and olive oil. "A little tapas to keep you going," he said deprecatingly.

"So, you shot someone over dinner?" Mark asked, a devilish smile lighting his eyes, and reminding Horatio how similar he was to his daughter. "What did they do? Bad table manners perhaps?"

Amid the laughter, Horatio explained what had happened, and to his relief, fell into an easy conversation with Mark and the others. Darren disagreed with everything Horatio said, apparently on principle, but it was a pleasant enough evening.

When their meals were served, everyone tucked in with obvious relish. As usual, the food was outstanding, and Frankie's swordfish was the best she'd ever tasted. When she said as much, Horatio shook his head. "You say that every time we come here."

"So, how's the case coming?" Mark asked, accompanied by groans from the three women.

"No talking shop," Victoria ordered. "Let them both have an evening off. I'm sure Horatio doesn't want to spend his evening talking about his work." In an effort to change the subject, she turned to her son-in-law. "How's your food Darren?"

He wrinkled his nose and Frankie had a sudden vision of impending doom. This was where a perfectly nice evening turned into a night from hell. "Not particularly pleasant, I have to say. I had expected better than microwaved food." He waved imperiously at Ramiro to call him over. "I think you should replace this. It has been microwaved."

Ramiro looked confused, and Frankie wished the earth would open up and swallow her. "I think you may be mistaken sir."

"I know microwaved food when I taste it," Darren declared.

Ramiro looked embarrassed. "We don't have a microwave. My wife Alejandra cooks everything fresh."

"This has been microwaved!"

"We don't have one!" Ramiro snapped. "You can come and look in the kitchen if you wish to, but we do not have one!" He looked to Horatio and Frankie for support, but Horatio simply looked bemused, and Frankie was doing her best to slide under the table.

"Mine's wonderful, Ramiro," Horatio said, trying desperately to smooth over the dispute. "Alejandra has excelled herself once again."

Ramiro snorted, but it was almost possible to see ruffled feathers being smoothed back into place. "Well, I am pleased you like it. If you want something else, then I will order it for you, sir." Darren gave an exaggerated sigh and shook his head.

Once Ramiro had gone, Frankie glared at her brother in law. "How dare you speak to him like that?" she hissed. "That is so typical of you Darren, to ruin everyone's evening just because you weren't the centre of attention!"

"Hey!" Lucy snapped. "Don't talk to my husband like that! Just because Horatio is the paragon of virtue," she sneered, "it doesn't mean the rest of us have to be perfect!"

"Don't you dare start on Horatio! He's not the arrogant pig!"

Lucy opened her mouth, doubtless with another rejoinder, when Victoria interrupted with a quiet, but very firm, "Girls." Both women coloured but shut up, much to Horatio's relief. "I don't want the pair of you brawling in public like teenagers. Darren, you were very rude to Ramiro, but Frankie, you need to learn to control your temper! Don't smirk like that, Lucy, you're no better. Now, if we could return to what had been a very pleasant evening?"

Horatio quickly revised his opinion of Victoria Nelson. When he first met her, he had assumed that Mark was by far the stronger personality, that Victoria merely went along with her husband's opinion. With a few short sentences, without raising her voice one iota, she had stopped Frankie's temper in its tracks (no mean feat, Horatio knew), and stop Lucy from losing her temper too. By the looks of things, she had also embarrassed Darren. Victoria was clearly not a woman to be messed with.

Darren was very quiet for the rest of the meal, except for a few short sentences. He perked up again when the coffee was delivered though. Anxious to find a neutral topic, Victoria had led the conversation back around to work-related matters and Mark and Horatio were discussing the various methods of collecting fingerprints when Darren jumped in.

"Of course, it's not an exact science, neither is DNA analysis."

Horatio blinked a couple of times. "I think you'll find both are exact sciences."

"Well, according to something I read on the Internet, DNA is not a foolproof way of identifying someone, and it's possible to fake a sample."

"It's possible to plant a sample of DNA in order to implicate someone, but not to actually fake the sample," Horatio replied carefully. "Where did you read this?"

"Oh, I can't remember. But I do remember that DNA cannot be fully analysed yet."

"Well, that is true, in a manner of speaking," Horatio allowed. "We don't yet know what each gene and chromosome affects, but we can chart each strand of DNA and use that to identify someone."

"I think you'll find I'm right," Darren said airily.

Horatio exchanged incredulous looks with Frankie, who shrugged uneasily. Only Darren, when faced with someone who worked with DNA and fingerprints every day, would claim greater, and contradictory, knowledge. It was a relief when the evening was over.

"I am so sorry about him," Frankie apologised to Ramiro as they left.

"There's one in every family," he waved off her apology genially. "Nothing we can say or do will ever change them. My cousin is just the same." Frankie sighed with relief – the best restaurant in Miami _would_ still let them in.

Horatio smiled as Frankie wearily climbed into the car. "OK, so you may have been right about taking them to a different restaurant."

"He's a jerk, isn't he?"

"Much as I hate to pass judgement, yes, he is." He shot her a sunny smile that made her breath catch in her throat. "I think I got the right sister though." She laughed, and hit him lightly. She leaned back against the head rest of the car and relaxed. Evenings with Darren were always a trial. She was always on edge, waiting for something to happen. Now that was done, she could relax and enjoy the rest of the night. After all, she thought wickedly, the night was still young.


	19. Chapter 19

A frantic Ryan Wolfe woke Horatio and Frankie at 3.30am. The shrill sound of Horatio's cell dragged them both from a deep sleep. Rubbing her eyes in a desperate attempt to wake up, Frankie watched Horatio sleepily, once again envying his ability to not only survive on very little sleep, but also to go from a deep sleep to perfect awareness in seconds. Horatio said little, but hung up with "I'll be in shortly."

Frankie groaned as she got out of bed and began to hunt for some clean clothes to wear. "What's happened?" she asked, her voice still raspy with sleep.

"Delaney's dead," Horatio answered shortly, but she knew his temper was not aimed at her. "He's killed himself." He paused for a moment. "You don't have to come in, you know."

She shot a long-suffering look at him. He might be able to survive on little sleep, but that didn't stop dark circles from shadowing his eyes, or a haunted look appearing on his face. She might not be needed professionally, but Horatio would need her support. She smiled lightly. "And miss a morning drive through Miami with my favourite person? I don't think so."

Grateful for her presence, even more grateful for her discretion, he drove them into CSI in silence. Frankie had nodded off on the short drive and, as he parked, he debated whether to wake her. She looked so peaceful he thought, a small smile on his lips. Then she gave a half-snort, half-sneeze as she woke up and he rolled his eyes. So much for peaceful.

Ryan was waiting for them at the front desk. "H! Thank God. Delaney hung himself with his own belt," he said.

"Dead meat is hung, people are hanged," Frankie corrected. Ryan and Horatio both gave her an odd look. "It's 4am people! Don't expect me to make sense! I'll go and get us some coffee," she said to Horatio, stretching up to kiss him on the cheek.

She found them in Delaney's holding cell, and waited outside, not wanting to contaminate the scene. Delaney hung from the light fitting, his belt neatly tied to form the noose. She had to hand it to him: Delaney was neater in death than she was in life. He looked almost as though he was at attention, his hands hanging by his side, his feet pointing like a gymnast. The single chair was lying on the floor under him, clearly where he had kicked it away from himself. By the side of the chair was an envelope, marked 'Lieutenant Caine'.

Horatio gave the envelope a long, slow look before he picked it up. Giving Delaney one final glance, he said, "Get the on duty coroner in here. I doubt we'll find any contrary evidence, but check the belt for prints, just in case he didn't do this to himself."

"Sure thing H. Oh, and I thought you'd want to know, Delaney lives, lived next to a nursery. I checked, and they use the same pesticide that we found on the bombs." Horatio nodded absently, and took an appreciative sip of the coffee Frankie handed him.

She followed him to his office, not wanting to leave him alone with this letter. They sat together on the battered couch that had been in the office since God-knew-when. Frankie drank some more coffee while she waited for him to open the letter. He heaved a sigh, shook his head and started to read. Without comment, once he had finished, he passed it to her.

_Lieutenant,_

_I can only apologise again for the inconvenience and trouble I have put you and the other police officers to. I truly never meant to hurt anyone else, and I cannot express my horror at learning I was no better than those I was hunting. Those two children who died – my heart breaks for their parents._

_As for David Hobart, as that is David Barker's real name, I have no regrets whatsoever. I only wish Kathryn Ellison had died as well. They should both burn in hell for what they have done. To profit from my daughter's murder, and to escape justice is an insult to Jessie's memory. _

_I am sure you are curious about how I tracked them down. When I discovered that those two had escaped, and that the Raleigh police department had no idea who they were, I decided that I had to find them myself. I had little luck with the police. They were unwilling to let me see the evidence from the case, or to tell me any news whatsoever. When Marty Periman was convicted, however, I knew that was my chance. I visited him in prison and convinced him to tell me his accomplices' names._

_Unfortunately, I was posted to Iraq and had to postpone my revenge. When I returned, I retired from the Marines and set about tracking them down. When you have only one goal in life, it is very easy to achieve it. I lived only for revenge. Once I discovered they were in Miami, (I will not bore you with the long months of trial and error) I moved down here._

_I had no evidence, nothing that would support my claims, but I knew that these two were living the high life due to my daughter's death. I wanted to kill them, to tear them apart. But more than that, I wanted people to know what they had done._

_I knew that you were a man who would not rest until he found those responsible, and while I knew I would be caught, I knew also that you would find the truth about David Hobart and Kathryn Ellison. _

_Now that I have achieved my life's purpose, there is no point continuing with this life. My soul died the day my daughter did. It has just taken six years for my body to die as well. _

_Thank you for what you have done for me and for my daughter. Jessie can rest in peace now._

Frankie read the letter through twice before she spoke. "A sad end. This letter suggests he was probably mildly schizophrenic. The death of his daughter probably drove him over the edge and he began to see the world from a skewed perspective. To him, killing innocent people was justice, as long as the guilty died as well. I only hope Jessie does rest in peace now." She shuffled closer to Horatio on the couch, putting her arm around his shoulders. "It's done now."

Horatio was staring into the distance, his eyes fixed on a point she couldn't see. When she nudged him gently, in an effort to get a response, he turned to face her and pulled her towards him for a searing kiss. She broke away, laughing, before she was stopped by the expression on his face. "What was that for? Not that I mind of course."

He hesitated, biting his lip. "No one ever told you what happened when we caught the Fuentes brothers did they?" She shook her head. "I nearly killed Jorge." He spoke so quietly she had to strain to catch it. "'I wanted to kill them, to tear them apart,'" he quoted sadly. "I could have torn Fuentes apart without thinking, without remorse. He hurt you, and I nearly killed him for it."

Frankie hugged him tightly to her, one hand around his shoulders, the other tangled in his hair. Her eyes stung with unshed tears, but she held them back, concentrating solely on Horatio. "My hero," she murmured. He tried to shake his head but she repeated, in a firmer voice, "You are my hero. You nearly killed him. But you didn't. You stopped yourself. You are nothing like Richard Delaney." He shuddered at that last comment. "You are my hero and I love you."

"I love you too." He took a deep breath and sounded far more cheerful when he next spoke. "How about I get you a ride home while I stay and sort out the paperwork?"

"Sure," she agreed easily. "Then you can come home later and go back to bed yourself." Horatio hung his head in defeat, hiding a smile. There was just no reasoning with her when she spoke in that tone.


	20. Chapter 20

Eric returned to CSI with a badly annoyed Frank Tripp having had a pointless journey. His temper was not improved when he found out that Horatio and Ryan had arrested the bomber and that said bomber had already killed himself. The case was, barring some extra paperwork, closed. Tripp was in no better mood, and between them they managed to glare at anyone who approached them. Calleigh, of course, would have been another matter, but she was still locked in her ballistics lab. Tripp left him, muttering something about needing a cold beer, and Eric made his way through to the break room in a foul mood.

"Eric, baby, what's up?" Alexx asked, her eyes dark with worry.

He slammed the cupboard door closed with, banged a cup down on the counter and opened and slammed shut a drawer before turning to face her. "Bad day," he snapped.

"No call to start acting like a spoilt child," she said lightly, and anyone who didn't know the ME would not have spotted the warning tone in her voice. Luckily for Eric, he was not in such a bad mood as to be suicidal, and he managed a smile.

"I was going to take Calleigh out for a really nice meal to celebrate it being ten years since she joined the police. And ask her to move in with me." He scuffed his foot on the floor, head down. Alexx smothered a smile as best as she could. Honestly, sometimes Eric managed to look like a kicked puppy. "Stupid Marty Periman," he muttered.

"Well, honey, Calleigh will understand. And you can ask her to move in with you another day," Alexx gave him a quick one-armed hug as she spoke and Eric nodded, a trifle sulkily.

"Eric, I'm so sorry," Horatio began, making both of his friends jump. He was standing in the doorway of the break room, and Eric wondered exactly how long he had been there.

"Don't DO that H!"

Alexx had her hand on her heart and was glaring at him. "Is it going to take someone having a heart attack to stop you sneaking up on people?" she gasped, a laugh hovering on the edge of her voice.

"I don't sneak. People just don't pay attention," Horatio defended himself. "I am sorry Eric, I didn't realise last night meant that much."

Embarrassed at being caught out like that, Eric muttered something noncommittal, and turned red. "But you caught the bomber," he said, raising his voice to a level the others could hear.

"Yes," Horatio said sadly, "but not for long."

"Someone else's problem now honey," Alexx said sympathetically. "Mine. And then Him upstairs."

"I don't like the ones that end messily," Horatio replied before moving back to the original subject. "I wasn't joking Eric, the other day. I will pay for you and Calleigh to have a night out. Whenever you want."

"Thanks H, you don't really have to you know." If anything, Eric was more embarrassed than ever.

"Take her out somewhere nice, ask her, and then send me the bill," Horatio said firmly. Eric grinned, his good humour suddenly returning, and went to find Calleigh. Alexx thought she heard, once Eric had left the room, Horatio murmur very quietly, "And wish me luck." Then he too turned to leave.

Alexx waited until he was at the door before she smiled and said, "You don't need luck, sugar. She'll say yes." Horatio stared at her, his eyes wide, and she widened her smiled. "She'll say yes."

* * *

Frankie was being hugged yet again by her mother at the airport before her family were due to go through security and fly home to New York. Darren was tapping his foot impatiently, but Lucy flung herself on her mother and sister for a three-way hug. 

"I'll miss you so much!" All three chorused together. Horatio smiled to himself – Frankie might protest that she wasn't that close to her family, but she did love them. Mark and he shook hands formally before Mark grinned at him, looking once more the image of his daughter.

"Take care of her for me," he said sadly, his voice belying his smile.

"You know I will," Horatio replied, and was relieved to see the older man nod. It appeared he had convinced her father to trust him.

"And you got your man," Mark added. Horatio nodded, looking away. Mark laughed. "The most beautiful words in the English language to a cop are 'case closed'. Relax, Horatio. You got your man."

Frankie stood with one arm around Horatio, waving madly with the other as her family went through security. Her mother blew her one final kiss, and then they were gone from sight. They turned to head back to the car. "Well, thank God that's over," Frankie exhaled.

"Don't pretend you won't miss them," Horatio smiled.

Frankie chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "Of course I will. And when Mom suggests we go and stay with them for Christmas, I will decide that it would be the worst torture on Earth. Actually," she frowned, "Christmas with Darren usually is a torture as you just know he's going to ruin what should be a perfectly lovely day."

"So do you feel like lunch to celebrate the fact that we made it through?"

"Lunch with you? I don't need an excuse," she beamed.

* * *

They ended up at a small café on the beach, far from their usual haunts. Ordering a bottle of wine, Frankie held up her glass in a toast. 

"To a successful few days. You have not only charmed my mother and sister, you've impressed my father, thoroughly irritated Darren, closed a six year old cold case, caught a mad bomber, saved the city, and spent a small fortune on meals out, if you include last night and Eric and Calleigh's upcoming date. All in all, not a bad few days."

"I'll drink to that," he replied, smiling briefly before looking away. Frankie watched in concern as he took a couple of deep breaths. She sincerely hoped he wasn't about to have another guilt trip about Richard Delaney's suicide.

"Are you all right?"

He jerked back to look at her for only a second before he looked away again. She waited in silence, knowing from experience now that pushing the issue never helped. Once she would have demanded to know what was wrong, but knowing him a lot better, she resolved to wait it out. He would tell her eventually. While she waited, she changed the subject, and proceeded to tell him stories about previous outings with Darren, and the disasters that had ensued.

At the end of the meal, he was still not talking to her properly, but when he suggested a walk along the beach, she willingly agreed. Perhaps he would tell her what was bothering him when they were alone. They strolled along arm in arm, neither in a hurry to go anywhere. She let him think in silence, enjoying walking along the beach, laughing internally at a few badly thought out bikini choices. Of course, Calleigh or Alexx was best for that sort of conversation, and many a happy hour could be spent at a bar, laughing at tourists.

Finally they reached a part of the beach that was a lot less crowded, the tourists being mainly centred around the row of cafés and bars on the beachfront. They sat together on a handy pile of rocks, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"This is why I moved south," she said happily. "Sun, sea, and a sexy man to share the view with."

"You moved to Miami because you wanted to find someone to share the view with?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I moved to Miami for the job. I stayed for you. And the beaches," she added with a sly smile.

"Chess?" She looked up, concerned at the anxiety in his voice. He looked desperately unsure, and she took a tight hold of his hand. Whatever bad news he had for her, they could deal with it together, she was sure. "Will you stay with me forever?"

Not the question she had been expecting, she thought uneasily, but she smiled anyway. "Of course I will. Always and forever."

He nodded vaguely, as though he hadn't really heard her. Something must be really wrong, she thought, her mind leaping from disaster to disaster. Cancer? Some other horrible genetic disease? Another woman? She discounted that possibility instantly. Horatio would never cheat – he was just too honourable for that. And besides, he wasn't a very good liar.

She moved to kneel in front of him. "Horatio darling, if anything is wrong, please tell me. You've got me really worried now."

He looked up, startled. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just …. wanted to ask you something."

"Then ask me."

He hesitated, looking everywhere but at her. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small, black box. Time slowed for Frankie, each moment seeming like eternity as she watched him open the box, revealing the most beautiful marquise diamond ring bordered by two glowing emeralds. Time still crawled along as he slid the ring gently on to her finger. She watched his actions as though she were somehow detached from reality, then sound and time rushed back in as she looked back up to meet his gaze.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," she replied, stammering in her nervousness.

"You deserve far better than I could ever give you, far better than a divorced, middle-aged man who is far too obsessed with his work, but I love you so much. Chess, I –"

"Yes." Frankie's interruption stopped him in his tracks. "Yes. Of course my answer is yes." She said it simply, not a trace of humour in her voice.

"You mean it?"

"Yes."

"You will marry me?" Incredulous disbelief shone in his eyes.

"Yes." Frankie started to laugh and flung her arms around him, burying herself in his embrace. He clung to her tightly and started to laugh himself.

"Only you would interrupt someone trying to propose to you!" he chuckled, smoothing back a stray curl of blonde hair with one hand.

"It's why you love me," she answered, dashing away a threatening tear with her hand. He nodded, and she frowned suddenly. "Hang on, there's something wrong here."

"Chess, whatever is wrong, I promise to fix it," he said, dread filling him.

"By my calculation, we've been engaged at least two minutes, and you haven't kissed me." She squeaked as he pulled her towards him, determined on rectifying that problem. Frankie closed her eyes in bliss as she felt his lips touch hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave herself up to the emotion of the moment.

"I love you." Both spoke at the same time and then started to laugh.

"It's true," Frankie said, returning to her original position next to Horatio and snuggling close to him. She held out her hand, admiring the way the sunlight glittered off the diamond. "I do love you. When did you start planning this?"

"When I saw the ring," he admitted sheepishly. "I saw it when Ryan and I went to pick up Delaney. I think Ryan thought I'd gone mad. It just looked perfect for you. You do like it, right?"

"Almost as much as I love you," she reassured him. "Um, do you mind if we don't do the big white wedding thing? I think a small, private ceremony, just those people we actually like, would be much better."

"Oh, your brother in law can come too," Horatio chuckled. They sat for a moment, and Frankie realised it was the first time Horatio had really relaxed in days. Then she leapt up. "What's the matter?"

"There's so much organise! Bridesmaids, dresses for me and them, flowers, where and when the actual ceremony will take place, the party afterward, the honeymoon… We need to really start thinking about these things. I mean, who's going to be your best man? You'll need suits, and oh, I forgot to mention transport to the ceremony! So much to do," she concluded.

Horatio looked slightly taken back by her long list. "What happened to the small, private wedding of a minute ago?" he asked weakly.

She frowned. "Small and private but _stylish_. I still want a gorgeous dress, and I'm sure Alexx and Calleigh will want to be bridesmaids. Ooh, and Madison can be a flower girl."

Laughing, Horatio stood up and brushed sand from his trousers. "We'd better get to it then."

"No rush," Frankie said with a smile.

"Why's that?"

"We have the rest of our lives together." She smiled happily and Horatio found himself wondering if he was going to wake up at some point from this dream. He had never felt so happy in his life.

"Can't wait," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. Dream or not, he was simply going to enjoy his time with Frankie while he could. "So where shall we go on honeymoon?"

* * *

A/N: And they lived happily ever after...probably. I think I'll be leaving Horatio and Frankie to it for a while. I may return to them in time, but I think I've reached the end of this particular arc, and this seemed like a perfect place to leave them. Imagine as you will their wedding, their blissful honeymoon (somewhere cold maybe? It's not as though they don't get enough sun in Miami) and the inevitable arguments over who looked worst in the wedding photos. 

As for me, I think I might explore some NCIS fics, or maybe something completely different. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially **Bookwrangler **for such dedicated support.


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